








.^"^ 




















*5 .LVL% •?• 



^i, ♦•-o" .-^ 






V t 1 • ' 

















^0^ *^^'':^»-y %*-Tr,.'^o^ ^<.,'-:^'-y % 







^^ 














'o . > " ,0 o 






^°-^<^. 


















v-^^ 




**^\ 







V-o'' 












"oV" 



















*3 •iJnL'* '^■?' 







:^'. "> 








X /^:i^'-^. .^'.'A'ir.X .^^-'^^-^> 



■^0^ 

















^°-n^. 







A o. ,^ 



^c 



HISTORY 



-OF- 



RICHMOND COUNTY, 

(STATEN ISLAND) 



NEW YORK, 



From its Discovery to the Present Time. 



EDITED BY 

RICHARD M. BAYLES. 



' Staten Island ! the name hath a charm to the ear: 
' Fair Island of Beauty ! ' " The Gem of the Sea ! ' 
Let other harps sing of the scenes ever dear, 
But mine, be it tuned in its praises to thee. 

' Thou 'rt lil<e a vast qiarden of verdure and flowers- 
Spread out in the distance, enchanting to view; 
With its green, shady knolls and luxuriant bowers, 
Surrounded by water-i of loveliest blue.** 



New York: 
L. E. PRESTON & CO. 

1887. 



OCT 18 1887 



COPYRIGHT, 1887, 

— BY — 

L. E. PKESTON & CO. 






<i 



PRtSS OV i. HtURI PROBST, 
36 NtSM ST . V».-<, 



PREFACE. 

The preparation of a history like this involves the employ- 
ment of a great variety of means, drawing from a multitude of 
sources. The compiler is frequently obliged to accept the 
statements of others without knowing upon what data those 
statements are made. < The utter impossibility of any one man 
being able, during the brief term of one human life, to go to 
the bottom of every fact stated in a work of this kind must be too 
apparent to need explanation. There are a hundred ways by 
which errors may creep in. The editor can but use his best 
judgment as to the reliability of the authorities upon which he 
dej)ends for statements, and his constant and most careful 
vigilance in guarding against erroneous statements. This he 
has done in the preparation of this work, and that vigilance has 
been rendered more effective by the experience the editor has 
had heretofore in the preparation of similar works in other 
fields. 

Opportunity is taken here to make expression of our gratitude 
for the generous response with which requests for information 
have been met by the ministers of the different churches, the 
officers of different societies, and others who were in possession 
of special information that was desired, in general; and we 
would also make particular acknowledgment of the valuable 
assistance which we have received from Dr. James Brownlee, 
Alfred de Groot, James McNamee, Governor G. D. S. Trask, 
Sidney F. Rawson, County Clerk C. A. Hart, School Com- 
missioner Theodore Frean, Professor N.L. Britton, the family of 
the late Gabriel P. Disosway, Dr. Arthur HoUick, Hamilton 



iv PREFACE. 

Willcox, Ira K. Morris, William T. Davis and John H. Gar- 
retson. 

The readiness with which these gentlemen have answered the 
calls of the editor for the assistance that each could give, has 
encouraged him through the many weary months of labor which 
the preparation of this volume has cost. 

Besides all the sources of information and assistance which 
have been indicated there are many others which have been laid 
under contribution which we cannot mention specifically. Two 
of the most important, however, cannot be justly omitted. These 
are the " Annals of Staten Island," compiled by Mr. J. J. 
Clute, and the note books of Prof. Charles Anthon, both of 
which have been drawn upon for whatever they contained of 
sufficient value and as far as the limits of this volume would 
allow. The copyright of the former was purchased from the 
heirs of Mr. Clute, and the note books of the latter, from a relative 
in whose possession they were. These were gathered while he 
was a resident of the island and a professor in Columbia Col- 
lege, about 1850 to 1854, he at the time having in view the prep- 
aration of a history of the island, which project he afterward 
abandoned. From these note books we have obtained many 
important facts which have hitherto never been published, and 
we deem it especially fortunate that the books were discovered 
in time for those facts to be embodied in this work. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. PAGE. 
Description of Staten Island (Richmond County) 1 

CHAPTER II. 

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ISLAND. 

Geology.— Flora of the Island.— Animal Life.— Indian Relics 9 

CHAPTER III. 

THE PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT— 1609 TO 1683. 

Discovery.— The First Settlement and the Settlers.— Conquest by the English. 38 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE COLONIAL PERIOD — 1683 TO 1775, 

Erection of Richmond County.— Arrival of Huguenots.— Division of Rich- 
mond into Towns.— The Claims of New Jersey.— Patents and Land 
Grants.— Establishment of the Colonial Government.— Administration 
of Justice.— The Time of the French War.— Colonial Description.— 
Colonial Customs. — Statistics 90 

CHAPTER V. 

THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD— 177.5 TO 1783. 

Events Prior to the Declaration of Independence.— The Coming of Howe. — 
Incursions and Skirmishes.— The Close of the War and the Evacuation 
of New York and Staten Island.— Incidents of the Revolutionary Period. 1.57 

CHAPTER VI. 

UNDER THE REPUBLIC— 1783 TO 1883. 

Condition at close of Revolution.— Population.— County Buildings.— Manners 
and Customs.— War of 1813.— Extracts from the Records.— TheMilitia.— 
Growth and Improvement. — Earthquakes. — Quarantine. —The Civil 
War.— Some Notable Events 350 

CHAPTER VII. 

CIVIL DIVISIONS AND CIVIL OFFICERS. 

The County.— The Towns.— The Villages.— Hon. Daniel D. Tompkins.— Hon. 

Erastus Brooks. — Cornelius A. Hart 336 



VI TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. PAGE. 

CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 

The Dutch Reformed Churches. — The Episcopal Churches. — Baptist 
Churches. — Methodist Churches. — The Moravian Church. — The Roman 
Catholic Churclies. — The Church of the Huguenots. — Unitarian Church. — 
Presbyterian Churches. — Lutheran Churclies. — Y. M. C. A 349 

CHAPTER IX. 

EDUCATION AND LITERATURE. 

The Schools of the Colonial Period. — The Public Schools under the State 
Government. — Richmond County College. — Brighton Heights Seminary. 
— Staten Island Academy. — The Natural Science Association. — News- 
papers. — George William Curtis.— John Adams Appleton. — The Smith 
Family 44.'5 

CHAPTER X. ' 

THE PROFESSIONS OF LAW AND MEDICINE. 

The Bench and Bar. — Henry B. Metcalfe. — Alvin C. Bradley. — Tompkins 
Westervelt. — Lot C. Clark. — Robert Christie. — John and William H. 
Anthon. — Theodore C. Vermilye. — List of Practising Attorneys. — Augus- 
tus Prentice. — Richmond County Medical Society. — I. K. Ambrose. — 
Herman Beyer. — Alfred L. Carroll. — Ephraim Clark. — Alva D. Decker. — 
Henry S. Earl. — Joseph Feeny. — John L. Feeny. — R. Henry Golder. — 
Edwin A. Hervey. — George C. Hubbard. — Robert M. Ames. — F. E. Mar- 
tindale."— James J. O'Dea. — S. A. Robinson. — Robert Rogerson. — Henry 
W. Sawtelle. — Samuel Russell Smith. — Walker Washington, Jr. — J. Wal- 
ter Wood. — Notes of Quarantine Superintendence, etc 469 

CHAPTER XI. 

OLD FAMILIES AND PROMINENT INDIVIDUALS. 

Alston. — Androvette. — Bedell. — Barnes. — Samuel Ward Benedict. — Read 
Benedict. — Bodine. — W. H. J. Bodine. — Blake. — Bogart. — Braisted. — 
Britlon. — Burbanck. — Burglier, Burger. — Bush. — Butler. — Cannon. — 
Christopher. — Cole. — Abraham Cole. — William A. Cole. — Colon. — Con- 
ner. — Corsen. — Cortelyou. — Crips. — Crocheron. — Cruser. — Cubberly. — 
George William Dale3^— George Henry Daley. — Decker. — De Groot. — De 
Hart.— Depuy.— Disosway.— DuBois. — Dustan.— Eddy.— Andrew Eddy. 

— Egbert. — Ellis. — Enyard. — Fountain. — Frost. — Garrison. — Guyon. — 
Hatfield. — Haughwout. — Charles A. Herpich. — Hillyer. — Holmes. — 
Housman. — Jacobson. — Johnson. — Jones. — Journeay. — La Forge. — Lake. 

— Larzalere. — Latourette. — Lawrence. — Lisk. — Lockman. — Manee. — 
James M. Jlanee.—Martling.—Martino.— Merrill.— Mersereau. — Metcalfe. 

— Nicholas C. Miller. — Morgan 497 

CHAPTER XII. 

OLD FAMILIES AND PROMINENT INDIVIDUALS (concluded). 

Ferine.- Poillon. — Post. — Prall.— Aquila Rich. — Alfred Z. Ross.— Ryerss. — 
Seguine.— John G. Seguine.— Henry S. Seguine.—Sharrott.— Francis G. 
Sliaw.— Simonson. — Stilwell. — Sprague.— Taylor.— Totten.— Ephraim J. 
Totten.— Tyson.— Van Buskirk, Van Duzer.— John H. Van Clief.— The 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. Vll 

PAGE. 
Vanderbilts.— The Van Name Family. — Van Pelt.— Wandel. — Albert 
Ward.— Stephen Whitman.— Winant.— Garrett Ellis Winants.— Wog- 
lom. — Wood.— Abraham C. Wood.— Jacob B. Wood.— Abraham J. 
Wood. — Other Families. — Eminent Men and Women of Staten Island . . . 563 

CHAPTER Xm. 

CHARITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS. 

The S. R. Smith Infli-mary. — The Seamen's Fund and Retreat. — Home for 
Destitute Children of Seamen. — County Poor House. — Staten Island Diet 
Kitchen. — Cemeteries. — Staten Island Water Supply Company.— The 
Crystal Water Works. — The Sailors' Snug Harbor. — The Police and Fire 
Department 641 

CHAPTER XIV. 

MXTTUAL ASSOCIATIONS. 

Staten Island Athletic Club. — Clifton Boat Club. — Staten Island Rowing 
Club. — Kill Von KuU Rowing Association. — Staten Island Cricket and 
Base Ball Club. — German Association. — Grand Army of the Republic. — 
Masonic Societies. — Odd Fellows' Lodges. — Miscellaneous Organizations. 666 

CHAPTER XV. 

TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC. 

The Ferries.— Bridge Across the Sound. — The Staten Island Railroad. — The 
Shore Railroad. — North and South Shore Railroad. — The Richmond 
County Railroad. — The Staten Island Rapid Ti'ansit Railroad. — Lewis 
Henry Meyer. — Eckstein Norton. — Roderick W. Cameron. — John Frank 
Emmons. — Harry L. Horton. — Reon Barnes. — Orlando A. Wood 678 

CHAPTER XVI. 

INDUSTRIES. 

Agriculture. — Shipbuilding. — The Oyster Interests. — John Scott. — Silas N. 
Havens. — Edward Lowrey Woodruff. — Barrett, Nephews & Co. — The 
New York Dyeing and Printing Establishment.— The Brewei'ies. — George 
Bechtel. — Monroe Eckstein. — B. Kreischer & Sons. — Jewett White Lead 
Company. — Silk Mill. — John Irving. — Linoleum Works. — Paper Mill. — 
Plaster Mill.— Dental Supplies.— Other Industries 703 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PORTRAITS. 

Appleton, John A 464 

Barnes, Reon 699 

Barry, John 430 

Bechtel, George 738 

Benedict, Read 500 

Benedict, Samuel W 499 

Bodine, W. H. J .503 

Brooks, Erastus .343 



Till TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Brownlee, Janies 360 

Cameron, Roderick 694 

Cole, Abraham ,514 

Cole, William A 516 

Curtis, George William 456 

Daley, George H 534 

Eccleston, John C 402 

Eddy, Andrew 533 

Feeny, John L 487 

Hart, Cornelius A . 346 

Havens, S.N 719 

Herpich, Charles A .543 

Horton, H. L 698 

Ir%-ing, John 738 

Kreischer, B 734 

Lewis, John 433 

Manee, James M 554 

Meyer, Lewis H 692 

Mifler, N. C 561 

Norton, Ex 693 

Prentice, Augustus 478 

Rich, Aquilla .566 

Robinson, S. A 492 

Ross, A. Z 568 

Scott, John 718 

Seguine, Henry S 571 

Seguine, Jolin G 570 

Shaw, Francis G 573 

Smith, R. Penn 466 

Tompkins, Daniel D 338 

Totten, E. J ,583 

Van Clief, J. H ' 586 

Vanderbilt, Cornelius 588 

Vanderbilt, Jacob H 604 

Vanderbilt, William H '. ,596 

Ward, Albert 611 

Whitman, Stephen 614 

Winants, G. E 618 

Wood, A. J 625 

Wood, Orlando A 701 

Woodruff, Edward Lowrey 730 

VIEWS. 

Old Billop House, looking toward South Amboy Ill 

The Old Billop House, Tottenville ; Ill 

Old Britisli Fort 237 

House of Isaac M. Marsh, formerly used as the Court House 253 

Building formerly used as a Clerk's Office and Jail 356 

Present Court House and Jail 057 

The Jaques Guion House, New Dorp 337 

Port Richmond Dutch Reformed Church 360 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX 

PAGE. 

St. Andrew's Church, Richmond 398 

St. John's Church and Rectory 400 

Woodrow M. E. Church •. 415 

Old Moravian Church and Parsonage 424 

Moravian Church, New Dorp 426 

" Beechlawn," Residence of Col. R, Penn Smith 467 

" Tower Hill," House of L. W. Faber 468 

" Tower Hill," House of Mi-s. Jenny Faber 469 

House of A. L. King, Clifton, N. Y 497 

" Ravenhurst," House of Read Benedict 501 

The Barne Tysen House 549 

The Daniel Lake House 549 

St. James Hotel, Port Richmond 630 

Mt. Loretto, S. 1 641 

" Arrochar," Residence of W. W. MacFarland 647 

Residence of George W. White 668 

Residence of James M. Davis 672 

" Fox Hill,'^ House of L. H. Meyer 690 

Dining Room at Fox Hill 691 

House of Ex. Norton 693 

Residence of R. W. Cameron 695 

" Portledge," Residence of J. F. Emmons 697 

Staten Island Fancy Dyeing Works 722 

The Old Staten Island Dyeing Establishment 726 

House and Stables of George Bechtel 729 

Fire-Brick Works of B. Kreischer & Sons 732 

Residence of the late B. Kreischer 735 

Residences of Charles C. and Edward B. Kreischer 736 

The Irving Manufacturing Company 739 

MAPS AND PLANS. 

Map of Richmond County 1 

Geological Map of Richmond County 9 

Facsimile of Original Patent Granted to Barne Tysen in 1677 125 

Plan of Christian Low Dutch Church 365 




MAP OF '^,. 

RTCHMOXD (X^/ 

XEWYORK. \ 

L.£ Pi- < -.St on & C (j 

PuBLI SH ERS . 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



chaptp:r I. 

DESCRIPTION OF STATEN ISLAND. 
(inC'UMOXD COUJiTY.) 



THE first thing we linow of Staten Island is its name, and 
we trust it will not be considered out of place to intro- 
duce onr subject by an explanation of its name. Its x'l'fsent 
form is an English rendering of the name given by the Dutch, 
"Staaten Eylandt." Hudson gave the name, which meant the 
"Island of the States," as a memorial to the states general, under 
whose Hag he was sailing. By the native occupants it was 
called ••Aquehonga Manacknong," and sometimes " Eghtjua- 
hous," which was probably only a slight variation of the tirst 
part of the former. Schoolcraft interprets "Aquehonga Ma- 
nacknong," as far as the 2)lace of had woods. The meaning of 
" Eghquahous" is also interpreted the -place of had woods. It 
is not easy now to see the application of such a name, unless 
it was that the woods here were dense, and perhaps filled with 
tangled undergrowth, that made it difficult to move through 
them in pursuit of game or to secure good aim upon it. 

The Island lies in or upon New York bay, but closely drawn 
to the New Jersey shore. It is separated from the latter by 
Newark bay and a narrow estuary called Kill von Kull on the 
north, and on the west by Staten Island sound, which is crooked 
and narrow but navigable by steamboats and river craft. The 
south side is washed by the waters of Raritan bay. Prince's 
bay and the Atlantic ocean, while the main seaward channel 
of the Hudson river flows along its eastern shore. It lies 
centrally in latitude 40° 34', and longitude 2' 52' east from 
Washington, or 74° 8' west from Greenwich. The center of the 
1 



"2 HI.STOHV OF UKIIMOXD COUNTY. 

island is eleven miles southwest of New York city, one hun- 
dred and forty-three miles south of the state capital, and one 
hundred and ninety miles southwest by an air line to the 
national cajjital. 

With respect to its surrounding waters we can approve the 
i-emarks of J. Fennimore Cooper, who in his " Water Witch '" 
locates a scene here. He says: 

"The fine estuary which penetrates the American coast be- 
tween the fortieth and forty-first degrees of latitude is formed 
bj^ the confluence of the Hudson, the Hackensack. the Passaic, 
the Raritan and a multitude of smaller streams: all of which 
pour their tribute into the ocean within the space named. The 
Island of Nassau [Long Island] and Staten Island are happily 
placed to exclude the tempests of the open sea, while the deej) 
and broad arms of the latter offer every desirable facility for 
foreign trade and internal intercourse.'" 

Arthur kill separates the island on the west side from the 
New Jersey shore, and extends from Elizabethport to Perth 
Amboy. It is the grand highway for all the local commerce of 
the several ports and streams on the west side of Staten Island, 
as well as the inter-state commerce passing south and west 
tlirough the Delaware and Raritan canal, which connects the 
Raritan river at New Brunswick with the Delaware river at 
Trenton. This canal is one of the principal links in the chain 
of internal navigation of the Atlantic seaboard, and has a 
tonnage amounting to about two millions annually passing 
through it. 

What may be said in regard to the commerce of Arthur kill 
is equally true of Kill von Kull. and perhaps in a still greater 
degree. The latter extends from New York bay to Newark 
bay, separating the north shore of Staten Island from the New- 
Jersey shore at Bergen Point. Through this channel must pass 
the great bulk of the commerce already mentioned and that of 
Newark bay and its tributaries in addition. 

Neither of the channels mentioned, however, can compare in 
the importance of its commerce with that of the channel which 
lies along the ea^t side of the island. That is the gateway 
through which is constantly passing the commerce of our own 
great nation with all other nations of the earth. Thus we see 
Staten Island is peculiarly situated, as it were in a whirlpool of 
the commerce of a hemisphere. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 3 

In passing', let ns notice the names of the bodies of watei' that 
snrround the island. The water now known as the kills was 
first called by the Dutch " Uet Kill van het Cul," meaning the 
Kill of the Cul. The Dutch word "Kill " meant a stream or 
creek, while the word "'Cul," perhaps borrowed from the 
French, meant a bay. Hence Kill von Kull was " the stream of 
the bay," the appropriateness of which name is seen in the fact 
that it connects the two bays of New York and Newark. 
" Achter Cul,"' as Newark bay was called by the Dutch, meant 
the "■Bad' hayP The narrow body of water known as Staten 
Island sound, to which the name Arthur kill is also attached, 
was perhaps regarded as only a part of the " back baj',"' and 
so the name of the larger body, slight!}^ corrupted, was appro- 
priated to the smaller amii. A reef in the bay at the mouth of 
the Kill von Kull was once frequented by seals, to which the 
Dutch gave the name Robyn ; hence the name " Robyns Rift," 
which has by careless usage become '"'' Rohhlns Reef." 

The shores of the island are designated with respect to the 
points of the compass, as follows : The region from the Fort to 
Billop"s point is called the South Shore : from the latter point 
to the junction of the sound with the kills is known as the West 
Side ; from the latter point (to which the name Rowland's liook 
has been applied, with reference to the meadows, and De Hart's 
point to the knoll of upland which overlooks it) to where the 
kills meet the waters of New York bay is called the North 
Shore ; and thence to the point of departure the East Side. 

The shape of the island is that of an irregular triangle. The 
longest line that can be drawn through it, from the extreme 
northeastern to the extreme southwestern point, is a few feet 
more than thirteen and a half miles ; while the longest line that 
can be drawn across it. from the shore of the sound near Buck- 
wheat island to the shore at the light-house near the Narrows, 
is two hundred feet over seven and three fourths miles. It con- 
tains about seventy-seven square miles, or 49,2Si) acres. 

The topography of the island corresponds in general with 
that of Long Island, being in the northern pai't hilly and stony. 
and in the southern j^art fiat and sandy. But in detail the sur- 
face is more diversified. The island may justly claim attention 
for the beauty of its landscapes, presenting, as they do, so many 
mutations in character, through high, boldly precipitous Mid- 
dletown, divei'sitied Castleton, gently undulating Westfield, 



4 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

rolling Northtield, and low, more or less Hat and marshy South- 
field. Two prominent ranges of hills extend partially across 
the island, in different directions, one being near the eastern 
shore and touching it at both ends. This extends from New 
Brighton, on the northeastern extremity, where it reaches an 
elevation of 310 feet, and sweeping inland behind Tompkinsville 
and Stapleton, conies out again upon the shore of the Nan-ows, 
with such precipitous form as to suggest the name of Clifton. 
The second may be said to commence to the south and just in the 
rear of West New Brighton, and extends southward, rising as 
it advances, till it nearly reaches New Dorp, when it swerves 
away to the westward and settles down again on the shores of 
the Fresh kill. This reaches its greatest height in Toad or Todt 
hill, which has an elevation of 370 feet above tide. Still farther 
west it makes a prominent elevation in Richmond Hill. At 
La Tourette's hill, still farther, it overlooks the village of Rich- 
mond, and there you gaze far away over green, wooded, rolling 
Westfield, while Fresh kill runs at its base, nearly dividing the 
island in two. 

To the southeast of this hilly region, which by the way may 
be described as covering the northeast quarter of the island, is 
a level, and probably alluvial, tract of country, composed of 
upland and salt meadow extending to the ocean, where it is 
designated as the south shore. To the northwest of the "hill 
country" the surface is undulating, gradually declining to 
level upland and salt meadows. Almost every farm in the 
county is furnished with several aci-es of this meadow, from 
which large quantities of grass are annually taken without any 
expense for fertilizing or renewing. 

The island is well watered with springs, some of them very 
copious, and all of them affording water of excellent qtiality. 
These are the sources of numerous rivulets and brooks which 
irrigate the surface in all directions. At Springville, on the 
western part of the island these native waters burst from the 
soil in such spontaneous abundance as to suggest a name for 
the locality. The water of these springs is very cold and pure. 
Their value in the arts has been discovered by the proprietors 
of several large breweries and dye works as well as by the 
projectors of public water works. On this subject the fol- 
lowing extract from the report of investigations made in 1876 
by Mr. Clarence Delafield, C. E., in regard to the available 



HISTORY OF EICHMOND COUNTY. 5 

sources of water supply for the village of New Brighton, will 
be found very interesting: 

" West of Port Richmond and Graniteville lies a sandy sur- 
face soil: under this is an impervious clay of considerable 
depth, under which again is a stratum of gravel that extends 
westward under the sound into New Jersey for a long distance. 
This gravel is the storage reservoir for the drainage of an im- 
mense district. Springs break out at or near tide water in large 
numbers in Mariners' Harbor. At Singers factory in Eliza- 
bethport, the well that furnishes the factory is sunk through 
this clay stratum to the gravel, and furnishes a large volume of 
water. I feel confident that an ample supply can be found in 
this region for pumping. 

"The geological formation is peculiar. From the Palisades 
on the Hudson river, the trap rock is seen running in a south- 
westerly direction, generally depressed as it passes under 
Bergen hill, thence passing under Bergen Point and the Kill 
von Kull, emerging at the water side of Jewett's residence, 
Port Richmond, passing thence to the quarries at Grraniteville, 
and from there dipping under the Fresh kill, is lost sight of 
until discovered on the Raritan river between Perth Amboy 
and New Brunswick. West of this line lies the white and blue 
clays of various depths, forming impervious strata, covering 
the water bearing gravel. 

"East of the line of trap described is another step of the 
same rock, noticed at Bergen Point, at Gfunther's residence, but 
only found on the island, in digging wells just east of the Pond 
road. 

"Between the Pond and Mill roads there is a depression of 
the rock, and wells forty feet in depth pass through a stratum 
of water-proof clay into a stratum of gravel, the reservoir of 
drainage of the surface above of limited area, the water rising 
and falling with the rains, and often chalybeate in taste from 
the deposits of hematite iron in the hills above. 

" East of this line and at many points the serpentine rock 
comes to the surface, and on Todt hill rises to an altitude of 
about 370 feet above tide-water. Below the serpentine rock 
should occur the carboniferous strata and old red sandstone, 
also the Silurian rock overlaying the gneiss and gi'anite. I be- 
lieve that the serpentine rock rests upon the gneiss rock, the 
usual intermediate rock being absent, and the reason for this 



6 HISTORi' OF KKHMOND COUNTY. 

belief is that tlie gneiss rock of New York city is observed 
dipping under the bay, rising to form Robin's Reef, and ex- 
tending west to the beacon opposite Xew Brighton, probably 
passing under Staten Island at the same rate of dip. 

"As the result of observation of American and European 
engineers, the magnesian limestones are prolific water bearing 
rocks, and the primitive gneiss liable to fissures and stratifica- 
tion leading from great distances and bearing water of great 
purity. The granite from its freedom from fissures or strata, 
and irregular contour may form good basins, but rarely carries 
water far. Geology is by no means an exact science, as far as 
determining without experimental examination the probable 
strata or their water bearing conditions, but the above men- 
tioned conditions are an assistance in an intelligent considera- 
tion of the subject now under investigation. 

" I find by observation, that there is a series of admirable 
springs commencing at the famous Hessian springs, near La- 
fayette and Brighton avenues, below Silver lake; also the Be- 
ment boiling springs, then various lesser springs, to the large 
springs at the Four Corners or Constanz brewery, and so on 
to the Willow brook and down to Springville. I have esti- 
mated, and find the amount of water discharged is vastly* in 
excess of any surface drainage on the higher grounds of the 
island adjacent, and am thus led to the belief that these springs 
arise from the rock below, and have their source on hills far 
distant." 

The climate of the island is subject to frequent and sudden 
changes of temperature, but is generally more mild than that 
of other localities in the same latitude farther away from the sea- 
shore. The mercury varies during the year between ninety de- 
grees and zero, very seldom passing either of these extremes. 
The prevailing winds of winter are from the north or northwest. 
In summer the south shore receives a breeze from the ocean al- 
most daily, and southwest winds prevail throughout the island. 
Being surrounded by salt water the island is naturally subject 
to fogs, especially about the shores, though they seldom pene- 
trate far into the interior. They are prevalent toward spring 
and continue to occur at times until June or July and occasion- 
ally at other seasons. Thunder showers in summer sometimes 
suddenly arise in the north and are wafted over the island on 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUXTV. / 

heavy gusts of wind, and are occasionalh^ accompanied by a 
fall of hail stones. 

The island has long been celebrated for the salubrity of its 
climate, except perhaps for aifections of the lungs and throat. 
There are few localities on the continent where the number of 
instances of extreme longevity in proportion to the population 
can be equalled, many of them being .more than centenarians. 
To show that the healthfnlness of the northern part was recog- 
nized we quote from an announcement in 1788 as follows: "The 
healthy and clear westerly breezes on the one side, and the 
thick southerly atmosphere, abstracted by a ridge of hills on 
the other side, make it so healthy that it must induce gentle- 
men of fortune to purchase, who wish to lengthen out their 
days and enjoy all the temporal happiness this life can afford." 

Some very cold winters have been recorded in the climatic 
history of the island. That of 1740-41 was unusually severe. 
Whenever alluded to it was spoken of as the " hard winter." 
Its extraordinary severity continued from the middle of No- 
vember to the end of March. Snow fell to the depth of six feet 
on the level; fences were buried out of sight: domestic animals 
were housed during the whole period, and many of them per- 
ished: intercourse between neighbors was suspended for several 
weeks; physicians were not able to reach their patients because 
of the utterly impassible condition of the roads; many families 
Suffered for want of bread while their granaries were filled with 
grain, because the mills were inaccessible; the roofs of dwell- 
ings and out-buildings in many cases were crushed by the 
weight of snow upon them; churches remained closed and the 
dead unburied. At length a day or two of moderate weather 
came and with a light, misty rain, softened the surface of tlie 
snow, which froze hard again, and formed a solid crust suffi- 
ciently firm to bear the weight of a horse. This for a time af- 
forded great relief to the imprisoned people, and enabled them 
to procure fuel and other necessaries. Again, the winter of 
1761, beginning with January, was an exceedingly cold one, 
continuing until March, meanwhile the Narrows were frozen 
over. Another severe winter was that of 1768. Ten years later 
brought a recurrence of climatic severity, of which the follow- 
ing record, dated December 12, 1788, gives us a hint: 

" The intense cold weather has, within these two days occa- 
sioned the quick-silver in the weather glass to fall four degrees 



8 HISTORT OF RICHMOND COtTS'TT. 

lower than has been obsetred for the last seven years; several 
shii^s, &c., and many lives have been lost by the monstrous 
bodies of ice floating in our Bay." 

But perhaps one of the most memorable winters for its sever- 
ity was that of 1779-80. The waters surrounding the island 
were then firmly frozen over, so that troops, cannon and mili- 
tary stores of all descriptions were conveyed hither from New 
York on the ice. Sleighs were driven across the Narrows and 
over New York bay on the ice. A New York paper {Rifing- 
toh's Gazette) of January 29 has an item saying that several 
persons came from Staten Island to New York tliat day over 
the ice, and on the first day of January it records the fact that 
a four- horse sleigh made the same passage. 



EXPLANATrON 




Point of the Beach 

L o /r E R 



B A Y. 



Ward's Point 

R A R I TAN 
B A V. 



A GEOLOGICAL MAP 

OF 

RICHMOND CO. N.Y. 

BY N. L. Brixton. 
Scale, I : 120000 



CHAPTER II. 
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ISLAND. 



Geolosv. — Flora of the Island.— Animal Life. — Indian Relics. 



IN the matter of geology Staten Island presents a great 
variety for so small a section of territory. For our repre- 
sentations of the subject we have drawn largely upon the facts 
gathered by the investigations of Dr. N. L. Britton, of Columbia 
College. He tells us that within the limits of this territory we 
find strata of the Archjean, Triassic, Cretaceous, Quaternary and 
Modern eras, each of which will be noticed in the order of 
its age. 

ArcJuean Strata. — True granite occurs on the shore of the 
Upper bay, about four hundred feet southwest of the Tompkins- 
ville steamboat landing, and directly in front of the old build- 
ing known as Nautilus Hall. The surface of rock exposed at 
low tide is about eighty feet wide by fifty feet long; the rock 
disappearing at high-water mark beneath a hill of drift some 
fifteen feet in thickness. More of the same rock is exposed 
about two hundred feet south of this. Elsewhere on the island 
the granite is covered by newer formations. There is reason to 
believe, however, that it extends in a belt of unknown width 
all around the eastern edge of the main range of hills, covered 
by the glacial drift and Cretaceous strata to an unknown depth, 
and that the same belt continues in a southwesterly direction to 
Arthur kill, and thence across the state of New Jersey to 
Tienton, where it again comes to the surface. 

At the exposure at Tompkinsville before spoken of, this 
granite is very coarsely crystalline in structure, and for that 
reason could never be very satisfactorily employed for building 
purposes. The feldspar is mainly orthoclase, occurs in large 
masses, and is greatly in excess of the other two constituents; 
the quartz varies in color from dark brown to nearlj" white; 
what mica there is appears to be muscovite. In places the last 
named mineral is absent, the rock being then a kind of peg- 



10 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

matite or graiihio iiTanire. No stratitication is observable, but 
the surface of the rock outcrop dips about fifteen degrees to the 
east. Mather calls this granite primary, and to the best of our 
present knowledge it belongs to the oldest geological formation 
in Xorth America. 

The magnesian rocks, serpentines, form the upper portion at 
least of the main series of hills. This rock originally is sup- 
posed to have been of very considerable thickness, for a large 
amount must have been removed by erosion; the serpentine 
area is estimated at about thirteen and a half square miles. It 
is impossible to estimate accurately the present thickness, but 
it is probably over one hundred feet. The most eastern exposed 
boundary of the serpentine rock is marked by a series of very 
sharp slopes, which are nearly continuous from Tompkinsville 
to Richmond, and in some places these are as straight and 
regular as they could be constructed. This regularity of the 
slope is a characteristic of these hills, and is not the least 
element of their beauty. It is not known how far east of the 
foot of these hills the serpentine extends, but it is probably no 
great distance, as the granite at Tompkinsville occurs within a 
few hundred feet of it. The southern end of the ridge descends 
rather gradually and is lost imder the Freshkill marshes not far 
from Richmond. The western boundary of the formation, or 
more properly the eastern limit of the Triassic sandstone which 
rests upon it, cannot be accurately located, as there are no out- 
crops, and any attempt to designate it would be speculative 
and only approximate. 

The magnesian rock varies in color from light green to nearly 
black, and in texture from compact to quite earthy, much of it 
being fibrous. Its specific gravity is about 2.55, and in chemi- 
cal composition it is all a hydrated magnesian silicate. The 
best exposures are at several places around the base of Pavilion 
hill at Tompkinsville; in cuttings for streets in the village of 
New Brighton; near the school house at Garretson's station; on 
Meissner avenue near Richmond, and near Egbertville. The 
highest point of the ridge is nearly opposite Garretson's sta- 
tion, and about half way across the hills, where the elevation 
measured by an aneroid barometer is four hundred and twenty 
feet. Among the interesting minerals associated with the ser- 
pentine rocks that have been collected at Pavilion hill and in 
New Brighton are compact and fibrous serpentines, marmolite, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 11 

silvery talc, apple green talc, giirhofite, dolomite, calcite and 
chromite. 

Xear the new railroad terminus at St. George's there was 
formerly an outcrop of very tough actinolite rock. This has 
been covered by the filling in of the water-front at that place. 

The metamorphic rocks of Staten Island are apparently a 
southern continuation of those of Hoboken, N. J., and Xew 
York island, their strike, position with regard to the other 
rocks, and their composition being generally alike or nearly so. 
The serpentines are supposed to have been ■originally highly 
magnesian limestones which by metamorj^hic agencies were 
brought in contact with highly heated carbonic acid and silica- 
bearing solutions, which, by removing the greater part of the 
calcic carbonate and altering the magnesic carbonate to a sili- 
cate, left the rocks in the condition of hydrated magnesian sili- 
cates. During or at the close of this period of metamorphism, 
the eastern edges of the strata were tilted up, forming an ele- 
vated axis, while the extension of the formation to the west- 
ward was subsequently covered by the shale and sandstone 
deposited from the Triassic sea. 

The true geological age of this belt of metamorphic rocks, 
which runs through Staten and Xew York islands, e.xtends far 
northward through the New England states, where it has a 
wide expansion, and has been traced southward as far as North 
Carolina, is not definitely known. Perhaps of all the theories 
in regard to it, that which claims it to belong to the Laurentian 
age, as portions of the Highlands of New Jersey and the Adi- 
rondack mountains, is the one most generally held by those 
who have studied the evidences most thoroughly. 

Triassic Formation. — Strata of the Triassic age extend over 
the parts of the island bounded by the assumed western edge 
of the serpentine rocks, the submerged gneissic belt, Arthur 
kill and Newark bay. This area contains about fourteen and 
a half square miles. The rocks consist of red ferruginous shales 
and sandstones, which dip to the northwest, and are broken 
through by a dyke of diabase or trap rock. They are in part 
the eastern extension of the Triassic strata that cover so large a 
part of New Jersey. 

The shales and sandstones are exposed in but few places and 
only in small quantities. They appear on Shooter s island and 
on the adjacent shore. Here the strata consist of shaly red 



12 HISTOKT OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

micaceous sandstone, which diiiers in no essential particular 
from that so abundantly exposed in eastern New Jersey. No 
fossils have hitherto been found in the.5e rocks on Stateu Island, 
and the exposed surfaces are not sufficient to warrant any great 
expenditure of time or labor in search for them. 

The diabase ridge that disappears beneath the Kill von KuU 
at Bergen Point cuts through the red sandstone of Staten Island 
from Port Eichmond to the Freshkill marshes, and appears as 
a low, long, round-backed hill, haAdng a general strike of south 
40 degrees west, thus being nearly parallel with the serpentine. 
Toward the south end its elevation is so little above that of the 
sandstone that its position cannot be well distinguished. The 
length of this outcrop is about five and three-quarters miles, 
and its width, meastiring from its assumed eastern verge to 
where the sandstone covers it, has an average of less than half 
a mile. Both the eastern and western boundaries, however, are 
so much obscured by drift that their exact positions cannot be 
determined, and the outcrop may be wider or narrower than 
the most careful estimate would lead us to suppose. 

The only places at which the diabase is exposed so as to be 
easily studied are at and near the so-called granite quarries at 
Graniteville and near Port Richmond. The rock is not a gran- 
ite, but a coarsely ciystalline diabase, mainly composed of 
angite and tricliuic feldspar, which is probably labradorite. It 
has been found in well-digging within the belt that has been 
indicated, extending from Port Richmond to the Fresh kill near 
its junction with the sound, in the water at Linoleumville, and 
in outcrops near Chelsea, on the road to Springville. It is 
noticeable here, as in other localities, that the trap-dykes seem 
to shun the exposed Archasan rocks and cling closely to the 
Triassic, none being found outside of the red sandstone era. 

T/te Cretaceous Fornudion. — This, more or less covered by 
glacial and modified drift and salt meadows, extends through 
all points of the island lying east and southeast of the Archjean 
rocks. The area underlaid by it is therefore about twenty-eight 
and a half square miles. The strata consist of beds of variously 
colored clays and sands, dipping slightly to the southeast, and 
having a general strike of about south 45 degrees west. They 
are a direct continuation of the " Plastic Clay" division of the 
Cretaceous, so named by the New Jersey geologists, and lie at 
tlie base of the formation in eastern North America. 



HISTORY OF HICHMOND COUNTY. 13 

South of the terminal glacial moraine, the strata are generally 
covered by a deposit of grayish yellow sand and gravel of vari- 
able thickness, known as the " Yellow Drift." This is seen on 
the island only in the vicinity of Tottenville, for the area lying- 
southeast of the moraine near New Dorp and Garretson's is cov- 
ered with modified drift, imperfectly stratified. These Creta- 
ceous strata of clay and sand extend eastwai'd to Long Island, 
where their extent is unknown. The clays are white, yellow, 
brown or black. They appear on the surface at a number of 
places, and the purer varieties have been extensively used in 
the manufacture of fire-brick, drain-pipe, gas-retorts and other 
refractory ware. White clays outcrop on the road just north of 
Rossville, at various places south of Rossville and near 
Kreischerville, along a stream near Prince's bay. They have 
been noticed near Gilford's, and are said to occur at the bottom 
of a well near New Dorp, and perhaps may be found in other 
localities. 

The extension of this formation to the east is indicated by an 
outcrop of buff-colored clay on the shore of the Lower bay 
about one-half mile south of the Elm-Tree light-house. The 
fact that all the pits from which clay has been taken are in the 
region between Rossville and Kreischerville does not prove by 
any means that clay occurs only in that neighborhood. It is 
probable, on the contrary, that the beds extend with some inter- 
ruptions, across the island, but are deeply covered by the drift- 
hills of the moraine, and materials washed from these which 
cover all the territory assumed to be underlaid by the clays, 
except that portion where pits have been excavated. 

Thin beds of Liraonite iron ore, of limited extent are found in 
terstratified with and overlaying the clays and sands. This sub- 
stance frequently cements the sand and gravel, and forms a con- 
glomerate of variable coarseness. Hitherto this iron ore has 
not often been discovered in sufficient quantities or sufficient 
purity to warrant its use in the manufacture of iron. Lignite 
and pyrites are frequently found in the clay -excavations. The 
former substance may also be seen on the shore of Arthur kill, 
near Rossville, aud in a ravine a short distance northeast of the 
same village, after slides of the banks occur. It is generally 
impregnated with the pyrites, and with copperas which mani- 
fests itself upon exposure to the air for a little time. No fossil 
leaves or shells have been found in the clays of the island, 



14 HISTORY OF RKHMOXD COUXTY. 

though it is not improbable that they may be foinid in more 
extended excavations than have been made. 

As these beds are composed of fragments of quartz, mica and 
clay, or decomposed feldspar, it is evident that they are the 
products of the disintegration of gneissic or granitic rocks. 
That they have not been formed in place, but have been de- 
posited from suspension in water, is proved from their stratifi- 
cation and by the assorted state of the materials composing 
them. That the waters that deposited the clays were fresh, is 
indicated by the absence of fossil marine organisms, and the 
presence of shells apparently allied to the modern fresh-water 
genera, in the clays of New Jersey. 

The Quaternary Epoch. — Deposits of material brought from 
the north by the ice of the glacial epoch, are found distributed 
over the greater part of the island, but do not entirely over- 
spread it. The most southern terminal glacial moraine crosses 
the island from the Narrows to Tottenville, and is distinctly 
marked by a continuous line of hills. These hills mark the 
farthest southern extension of the ice-sheet, and the line along 
Avhich the glacier deposited much of its burden of boulders, 
pebbles, sand and clay, which it had torn from the rocks in its 
southward journey. In many places these hills have the pecu- 
liar lenticular form which they assume on Long Island and in 
the Eastern states. The moraine has been partially removed 
by the wash of the waves from Prince's bay northward to near 
the Great kills, leaving a bluff of variable height. 

The glacier moved across the island in a south-southeasterly 
direction. This is x^i'oved by the markings on the trap-rock 
near Port Richmond, which have about that bearing. The sur- 
face of this rock is also smoothed like portions of the P'alisades 
and Newark mountains. There are no such markings on the 
serpentine rocks, because they are too soft to retain them. The 
ice extended over their whole area, however, with the exception 
of a small area on Todt hill, which is east of the umraine. 
North and west of the morainal hills the drift is not so abund- 
ant, and rarely forms hills of any considerable size. But 
boulders are to be found over all this area, except when it is 
covered by newer formations and the soil is often very clayey. 

Diabase of various degrees of coarseness is the most abundant 
rock in the drift. This has been carried from the Palisades 
and the Newark mountains, and probably in part from the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 15 

trap-dj-ke on the island itself, and is found ovei' the whole drift 
area. Gneiss of various kinds, largely syenitic. is perhaps the 
next most abundant rock, and occurs often in very larg-e masses. 
One of these large boulders rests directly on the top of Fort 
hill, New Brighton; another along a roadside near Pleasant 
Plains, and a third worthy of notice lies in a field near 
Huguenot. 

Moderately large boulders, both of trap and gneiss, abound 
on the moraine between the Narrows and Garretson's. The 
gneiss has come either from the New Jersey Highlands or from 
mtich farther northward, and perhaps in part from New York 
island. Triassic red sandstone, carried from New Jersej' or 
from the northwestern parts of the island, is often met with. 
A specimen impregnated with copper salts was obtained from 
the bluff at Prince's bay. This locality has yielded many other 
interesting specimens illustrating the material brought by the 
glacier. Among these may be mentioned Potsdam sandstone,, 
a number of rocks of Helderberg limestone, a specimen of 
granite containing graphite, a cherty rock which may belong to 
the Corniferous, and a conglomerate of uncertain age, but 
thought to be of the Oneida ep)och. A boulder of Hamilton 
limestone occurs near Richmond, and a rock containing galena 
was found in some excavations near New Brighton. 

It is evident that the ice-sheet passed entirely over the clay- 
beds of the Cretaceous formation in the vicinity of Rossville, 
apparently without deteriorating them to any great extent. 
At first sight it would appear that these soft, unconsolidated 
strata would have been greatly eroded and almost entirely 
removed down to the bed-rock, by such an immense mass of ice 
moving over them, but although some was undoubtedly carried 
away, the ice seems to have swept across the clays without cut- 
ting into them very much. South and east of the drift line 
(which flows in general in a course parallel with the south shore 
of the island In some jilaces running inland a mile or more for 
short distances) boulders are almost entirely absent, being 
chiefly found in the beds of brooks, where they have been 
carried by water since glacial times, and are never very large. 

Modified drift, or material derived from the glacier, but more 
or less sorted and stratified by water, may be seen on the plains 
lying east of the moraine from near Gifford's to Clifton. The 
soil over this area is seen in well-diggings to be imperfectly 



16 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Stratified, and to consist of loam and sand, with few pebbles 
and fewer botilders. On Todt bill, near the moraine, there is 
quite an extensive deposit of irruvel colored yellow by oxide of 
iron; this is the pre-glaoial drift, which has a greater develop- 
ment farther south in New Jersey. Occasionally some stratifi- 
cation may be seen in the morainal hills themselves, but these 
are generally very heterogeneous in composition. Modified 
drift also occnrs in small quantities along the edge of the 
moraine near Tottenville. The true glacial drift in this vicinity 
is not thick, but generally forms a mere mantle over the Cre- 
taceous strata, and was jirobably deposited by a local pro- 
jection of ice in advance of the main glacier 

The era of the formation of limonite iron ore deposits is only 
provisionally referred to the Quaternary. Their deposition is 
supposed to have begun long before the glacial epoch, but .since 
the magnesian rocks, upon which they rest. These beds of iron 
ore are found resting directly upon the serpentine or talcose 
rocks at a number of places, in some of which mining has been 
carried on. All the deposits have the same general character- 
istics — they aresitperficial, though sometimes covered by glacial 
drift to a variable depth. The ore consists of the hydrated 
sesqnioxide of iron, limonite, and is either compact or quite 
earthy in texture, and is associated with colorless, green and 
red quartz. It has been extensively mined near Four Corners, 
at several places on Todt hill and Richmond terrace, and along 
the Clove road, and is known to occur at several places on the 
serpentine hills. The deposits vary from a few inches up to 
twenty feet or more in thickness, and their lateral extent is 
limited to a few hundred feet in any direction. The Todt hill 
mines are the only ones wholly uncovered by glacial driit, be 
ing east of the moraine. 

These superficial deposits have probably had their origin in 
the deposition of the material composing them from the waters 
of thermal springs, which have come to the surface through 
crevices in the serpentine. The iron in the solutions was prob- 
ably in the form of the carbonate, which on reaching the sur- 
face became oxidized by contact with the atmosphere, and was 
thrown out of solution and deposited as the hydrated sesqui- 
oxide, as we now find it. Magnetic iron sand occurs with the 
limonite in one of the deposits on Todt hill. This was prob- 



HISTORY OF RICH.MOND COUNTY. 17 

ably washed in mechanically while the hydrated oxide was be- 
ing deposited from solution. 

Extensive deposits of light-colored sand, similar in character 
to those found so abundantly on Bergen neck, occur along the 
edges of the salt meadows on the western side of the island, 
from Mariner's Harbor to near Chelsea landing, sometimes ex- 
tending to a distance of one-half to three-qnarters of a mile on 
the upland, and thus occupying a position between the trap- 
dyke and the salt meadows. The material is a fine, yellowish, 
loamy sand, containing no gravel or pebbles, but rests on the 
glacial drift, and is hence of post glacial age. This sand was once 
the western beach of the extensive body of salt water which 
formerly occupied the basin now filled with the salt-marsh de- 
posits, and which extended over all the Newark and Hacken- 
sack meadows, but has now been reduced to the area of New- 
ark bay. The sands of this old beach were blown inland, and 
formed into dunes by the generally i^revailing westerly winds. 
On a windy day the manner of the formation of these dunes 
may still be plainly seen. A number of pine barren plants 
have been found lodging in this sandy soil, both on the island 
and on Bergen neck, and it is probable that others may be 
found when more exhaustive explorations are made. 

Modern ^poch.—\]ndev this head are included deposits whose 
formation began at a comparatively recent period, and whose 
growth still continues. 

Deposits of marine alluvium or salt meadows extend over an 
area of about nine and one-half square miles of the island. The 
material composing them consists for the most part of partially 
decomposed vegetable matter mixed with a little clay and sand. 
These salt meadow areas have (nice been shallow bays, which have 
gradually been filled up, first by the deposit of silt from their 
waters and the growth of marine plants, and ultimately by tlie 
growth and decay of grasses and rushes. This latter process is 
yet in operation, and thus the salt meadows keep at about the 
level of the highest tides. Their most abundant grass is the 
Spartlna juncea (Willd.), while the rush is J uncus Gerardi 
(Lam.), commonly known as •' black grass." A number of 
other plants contribute small amounts to the vegetable growth, 
making the salt-meadow fiora quite a varied one. The most 
extensive areas covered by these deposits are along New creek 
and the Great kills, on the eastern shore, and from Rossville 



18 iiiSTOKY OF lirrinroxD rorxTY. 

northward along Arlhnr kill. The thii;kne.s.s of the marslips is 
exceedingly variable", probably as much as thirty feet in some 
j)laces and but a few inches in others. The dried material con- 
sists of decaying tilires mixed with a little clay, sand and oxide 
of iron. The latter substance produces the irridescent lilm com- 
monly seen in the marshes, and popularly supposed to be oil. 

Sand lieaches occur along all the shores that are directly ex- 
posed to the waves. The greatest accumulations of sand are 
on the shore of the Lower bay, from Clifton southward to the 
so-called Point of the Beach, near Gifford's, at Seguine's point, 
near Prince's bay, and at Ward's point. The point near Crif- 
ford's is slowly lengthening and curving in toward the shore, 
and a similar point is in process of formation at the month of 
N'ew creek. The accumulation of sand at Ward's point, below 
Tottenville, is also quite great. These points are produced bj- 
the combined action of the currents of the Lower baj- and the 
streams liowing into it, which carry the sand along the coast 
until tinallj' it is driven up on the beaches by the waves. 

Sands comjiosed of magnetic iron ore occur with the quartz 
sand, and are generalh' found in layers of a fraction of an inch 
in thickness, but an accumulation of this nu;terial to a depth 
of four inches has recently been found at low water on the 
beach near the Elm Tree light-house, but it contains titanium 
and is not likely to be of mucli economic importance. All the 
sands originally resulted from the disintegration of rocks, and 
have been carried by water down the rivers emptying into the 
bays, and have also resulted in part from the direct disintegra- 
tion of the coasts. 

True peat occurs in but few places on Staten Island. Some 
is found in the Clove Lake swamps, in several swamps near 
Richmond and Gifford's, and towai'd Tottenville. In one lo- 
cality near Richmond the peat deposit is at least ten feet tiiick. 

The entire southeastern shore of Staten Island is gradually 
being washed away. In some places the loss is very apparent. 
At the foot of New Dorp lane, near where the Elm Tree light- 
house now stands, a large American elm was standing not longer 
ago than 1840. The place where it grew is now beyond the end 
of a dock which extends some four hundred feet into the water. 
This indicates an average wasting of at least ten feet per year 
from the shore. At Cedar Grove, half a mile south of this 
point, there has been a loss of about three hundred and fifty 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 19 

feet since 1850, which shows about the same average. At 
Prince's bay the government lias been obliged to bnild a heavy 
sea wall in front of the bluff on which the light house is placed, 
and a like x^i'ecaution has been taken at the forts on the 
Narrows. 

The two causes operating to effect the wasting of the coast are 
the constant abrading action of the waves and currents, and 
the gradual depression of the coasts. 'By the course of the 
prevailing currents in the Lower bay the eroded material, to- 
gether with part of that brought down bj' the rivers, is carried 
southwardly along the coast, the sands being deposited as 
beaches, bars and points, while the finer, muddy part is carried 
farther, and finally deposited in the deeper waters of the bay, or 
out into the ocean. The land on the shore is sometimes pro- 
tected by building bulkheads of stone or other substantial ma 
terial, running out some hundreds of feet against the southern 
part of the shore to be protected. Such bulkheads break the 
force of the sand-bearing currents and cause them to drop their 
burdens of sand on the north side of the obstruction, and the 
waves drive it up on the shore, thus actually making land. The 
other cause of the decadence of the coast is found in its gradual 
depression. Prof. George H. Cook has estimated that the shores 
of New Jersey and Long Island are suffering a depression of 
about two feet every hundred years. Others vary this estimate 
slightly, but it is agreed by all that there is a sinking of the 
shores slowly but continually going on. It will be seen that if 
this coast settles down to ten feet below its present level, the 
greater part of the plains extending south of the moraine from 
Giffords to Clifton, now the most valuable land in the county, 
will be covered with salt meadows within a few hundred years, 
provided they are not sooner washed away by the action of the 
currents. 

We must close this interesting subject with a few words on 
the economic uses to which the geological products of the island 
have been api)lied. The limonite ore of Todt hill. Four Cor- 
ners, and other places, has been used in blast furnaces in con- 
nection with other more refractory ores, or has been screened, 
ground and washed, to produce red ochre paint. The total 
amount hitherto mined may be as great as 300,000 tons. Fire 
clay is employed in the production of refractory ware, at 
Kreischerville, of which mention has already been made. Clays 



20 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

of glacial drift origin are used in the manufacture of common 
brick near Richmond and Linoleumville. Quarries of trap rock 
have been worked at Graniteville and near Port Richmond for 
many years. The rock is either cut into blocks and shipped to 
New York to be used for street pavements, or crushed into 
small pieces and employed in Mac Adam or Telford pavements 
on Staten Island. Some edifices have been constructed of this 
rock, but it is not well suited for building purposes. The fibrous 
serpentine rock, erroneously called asbestos, has been mined near 
Tompkinsville landing, to the extent of perhaps twenty-five or 
thirty tons, and used for the purposes for which asbestos is em- 
ployed. Thousands of tons of beach sand are annually taken 
from the southeastern coast, and used in New York and Brook- 
lyn for building purposes. In some places so much sand has 
been removed that property along the shore has been seriously 
damaged, by exposing roads and meadows to the action of the 
waves. 

The variety in the geological formation, already described, 
exerts a powerful influence over the occurrence and distri- 
bution of the vegetation, which is surprisingly rich in its 
number of species. In 1879 Messrs. N. L. Britton and Arthur 
Hollick. to whom we are indebted for the facts which we give 
under this head, after three years of careful search and study, 
compiled and published a catalogue of the flowering plants 
with the ferns and their allies, known to grow on Staten 
Island independent of cultivation. This catalogue enumerated 
1,050 species and varieties. The following year an appendix 
was issued enumerating forty-six more. In 1882 the second 
appendix was published containing sixty-seven additions. 
A third appendix, showing forty-six more, was issued in 
1885, and now the fourth appendix is found necessary, con- 
taining a farther list of thirty-.six species. In other words 
there are at the present time 1,245 species and varieties of 
wild plants known on Staten Island, which has an area of 
only about fifty-nine square miles, while the entire flora 
of New York state, covering an area of about 45,000 
.square miles, numbers only about 1,800. So that little 
Richmond county is the possessor of two-thirds of the state 
flora as known at the present time. About fifty of the species 
were not known in the state until discovered and reported from 
this county. The surprising richness, as previously stated, is 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 21 

due in part to the fact that the cretaceous sands and clays 
in the region around Tottenville and Kreischerville carr.v with 
them a large number -^f the plants characteristic of that for- 
mation in New Jersey known as the "Pine Barren" flora; 
while the drift, which covers the rest of the island with a 
mantle of sand, loam, gravel and " hard pan," affords a home 
for many of the plants which occur to the north and up the 
Hudson river valley. There are also several species which are 
confined entirely to the ridge of serpentine or soajDstone i-ock 
which forms the backbone of the island, extending from St. 
George to Richmond. 

The physiographic conditions are also of importance, as the 
island occupies a position surrounded by salt water, besides 
having several large ponds of fresh water, running streams and 
perpetual springs. There are also high and dry hills, low and 
wet swamps, and some artificially-made ground. The latter has 
mostly been filled in with refuse, and ballast from vessels, and 
through this agency about thirty of the species have been intro- 
duced. The inevitable march of progress, while it has intro- 
duced a few plants, mostly troublesome weeds, such as the 
"pig-weed," " worm-seed," stramonium, amaranthus, and other 
X)ests of our fields and gardens, has destroyed and crowded 
out many of our native species, or completely destroyed 
them in certain localities where they were formerly abundant. 
The forest trees were the first tu suifer, as the.y are in all com- 
munities in which immediate gain is counted higher than ulti- 
mate utility. The entire island, except on the salt marshes, 
was, it is said, originally covered with a thick growth, in which 
oak and chestnut predominated. In the time of the revolution, 
most of this forest was cut down, and there are now but com- 
paratively few trees that have seen one hundred years of growth. 
The mass of the forest growth at the present time is probabl}' 
about half that age, or a little more, although there are a few 
isolated examples which are noteworthy. One of the most con- 
spicuous objects near Garretson's station is a huge white oak, 
standing alone in the middle of a field, on the south side of the 
track. In a little secluded valley to the north of the station is 
a chestnut whose trunk measures eighteen feet in circumference. 
It is, so far as known, the largest tree on the island, in regard 
to girth. The next largest is probably a white oak which 
stands in a field at Green Ridge. Its circumference is fifteen 



22 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

feet two inches, and it is a remarkable object. Imt its existence 
is known bj' but few people, on account of its distance from 
an\- road. 

The willow trees at the Billop house, Tottenville, follow 
next, the largest one showing a circumference of thirteen 
feet seven inches. Xear Court House station are two of the 
finest examples of jDerfect symmetry in tree development to be 
found anywhere. They are both white oaks. One of them, 
with a circumference of eleven feet, is in a field close by the 
station, and the other is in a patch of woods about a quarter of 
a mile away. The latter one has a girth of eleven feet six inches, 
with branches that spread for a distance of thirty or forty feet, 
often almost touching the ground. A magnificent grove of 
white pine formerly fiourished on the hill back of Clove lake, 
but within a few years it has been cut down. There are a few 
scattered groves of these trees in other parts of the island, 
notably in Westfield, and many fine specimens may still be seen 
there. In a swamp at the rear of the school house at Green 
Ridge area number of elms, eacli averaging over eleven feet in 
circumference, and there are many beautiful specimens of this 
tree which have been planted, notably at New Springville. 
The sycamore is undoubtedly dying out for some reason, and 
probably the present generation will see its almost entire ex- 
termination. Almost the only really fine example of this tree 
now to be seen here is in front of a cottage on tlie north side of 
the road between Rossville and Kreischerville. Among the 
tallest trees the tulip tree will probably bear the palm. It is 
seldom very large in circumference, the greatest thus far meas- 
ured being under ten feet, but no tree can present a finer spec- 
tacle when it is in full bloom. 

The list of notable forest trees found here would not be com- 
plete without the sweet gum, which was the source of a gigantic 
hoax some ten years since. Its peculiar corky bark is familiar 
to most people, yet certain individuals found a ready sale for 
the branches iu the streets of New York under the name of 
"alligator wood.'' A market was even found for it among the 
citizens of the island, many of whom brought it back with 
them as a great curiosity. The beech is abundant, and often 
conspicuous for its size. Several fine examples are to be seen 
standing isolated in the partially cleared land back of Clove 
lake. In one limited locality the sugar maple grows, in com- 



lUSTOKY OF^PaclIMOND COUXTY. 23 

pans" with the slippery elm, but fortunately tliey have thus far 
escaped notice. Magnolias flourish in three widely separated 
localities — Tottenville, Giffords and Watchogue. The trees 
have been sadly mutilated by parties who gather the flowers 
for sale in New York, but as they grow in thick swamps they 
are not likely to be entirely exterminated until the swamps are 
drained and cleared. The red maple is one of the commonest 
trees in the lowlands, and is very conspicuous in the aiitumn, 
owing to the endless change in color which its foliage assumes. 
They often reach a considerable size, one in a swamp at Totten- 
ville being twelve feet three inches in cii'cumference, and hol- 
low, so that a person can readily get entirely within the trunk. 
There are five species of dog-woods known here, but only one is 
familiar to any extent as a tree. This is the Corrms florlda (L.), 
with large conspicuous white blossoms. The others hardly ever 
rise above the dignity of large shrubs or bushes. The well 
known evergreen holly {IIi;x opaca^ Ait.) was formerly far more 
abundant than it now is, although it still grows in considerable 
quantity in the vicinity of Richmond and Eltingville. and small 
scattered individual specimens are to be met with in nearly 
every jjart of the island. Not far from Giffords is a most beau- 
tiful example of this tree. The main trunk is four feet six inches 
in circumference, and each main branch measures two feet ten 
inches. Its height is about twenty-live feet, and the symmetry 
would be^perfect except that some vandals have hacked off 
branches on one side, i^resumably for Christmas greens. 

The catalpa, paulownia. and locust {Robinia, Pseudacacc't^ 
L.) have- all more or less escaped from cultivation and are 
thoroughly established in a wild state in many places; in fact 
the latter, there is good reason to believe, is native here. The 
ailanthus is likewise seeding itself quite extensively and seems 
likely to become a permanent feature. The two species of ash 
{Fraxlnus pubeseens. and Fraxirius Americana) are found 
sparingly throughout the island, but are mostly represented by 
isolated trees. The wild cherry is everj^where abundant and the 
cultivated one has l)een extensively planted in woods and copses 
through the agency of birds. Peach, pear and apple trees are 
also frequently met with in the woods and along old fence lines 
and hedge rows, where the seeds have been accidentally 
dropped. The sassafras is common and well known every- 
where. The hackberry, or sugarberry {Celtis occide/atalis, 



24 niSTOKY OF KICUMOXD COUNTY. 

L.) is plentiful in restricted localities, notably on Eichniond 
liill and at Tottenville. Its peculiar warty bark and insect 
bitten branches always attract attention wherever seen. The 
white and red mulberry may now be found in nearly all parts 
of the island, distributed by birds from trees, a large part of 
which were planted during tlie silk worm craze some years ago. 
The remains of some of these plantations may yet be seen, being 
all that is left of tlie visions of silk culture that prevailed at 
the time they were planted. Many black walnut trees may yet 
be seen, some of them very imposing specimens. Their near 
relatives, the hickories, number five different species, common 
everywhere. {Carya alba, Nutt., C. tomentosa, Nutt., C. por- 
cina, Nutt., C. amara, Nutt., and C. microcarpa, Nutt.) The 
first mentioned, which is commonly known as the "shag" or 
" shell bark," yields the liickory nuts of the markets. Tliis 
species is plentiful enough in certain places on the south side to 
be of some economical importance. The oaks number ten dif- 
ferent species. The chestnut, swamps, white and red oaks are 
known everywhere, forming the bulk of the woods, but the post 
oak {Quercus ohtusiJoba, Michx.) and black oak {Q. nigra, L. ) 
occur only in a few places, notably Tottenville and Watchogiie. 
The dwarf oak {Q. pTinokJes, Willd. ) is also restricted to the 
same localities. It seldom grows more than six feet high and 
appears like a thick bush. Tiie willow oak, (Q. PheUos, L. ), so 
far as known, is represented bv a single ti'ee, growing in a 
swamp at Tottenville. The chestnut was formerly vei'v abund- 
ant, and is yet along Ocean terrace, but it has lieen laid under 
such lieavy contriimtion for fence posts and rails, telegraph and 
telephone poles, railroad ties, etc., that its complete extermina- 
tion in the near future seems inevitable. Hornbeam or " iron 
wood '■ is plentiful, especial!}- in wet places. There are three 
species of birch, two of which are common and well known, 
namely the black and white. The third, which is known as the red 
or "river birch " [Bcfula nigra, L.), is very rare, only a few trees 
being known, and they are on the borders of a pond near Bull's 
Head. These are likely to be destroyed very shortly, on ac- 
count of certain changes now being made by the Crystal 
Water Company. There are nine willows, all common, in addi- 
tion to the " weeping willow," which is so well known in culti- 
vation. With the exception of the white {Salix alba. L., rar. 
Titellina, Gr.) and the black (■?. niqra. L.). thev are shrubs 



HISTOKY OF lUCHJIOND COUNTY. 25 

mostly confined to low or swampy situations. Botanically they 
are known as SalLx trlMis, Ait., -S'. hi(.milis. Marshall, S. dis- 
color, Muhl., /S. sen'cea, Marsliall., S.luc/'da, Muhl., S.fragilis, 
L., and S. cordata, Muhl. The poplars include, besides the 
well known cultivated species, the white, Lombardy, and "balm 
of Gilead," three wild ones, viz.: Poj^ulus iremuloides, Michx. . 
commonly called '"nspen," P. grandidentata, Michx., and P. 
lieteropliylla, L. 

There are four species of pines, all comparatively plentiful. 
The pitch pine is found everjMvhere. The white and yellow 
pines are not so common, and the "scrub," or New Jersey pine, 
is found only in the neighborhood around Tottenville and 
Kreischerville, excepting for a few isolated trees near Four 
Corners. The cedar is very common, forming many beautiful 
groves at different parts of the island. Very large specimens 
are to be seen near the Billop house at Tottenville, and at 
Kreischerville. Two of these trees measure respectively 5 ft. 
10 in. and 5 ft. \\ in. in circumference. Only one specimen of 
the juniper is known to be in existence in the county. This is 
in the cedar grove at New Dorp, near the beach. Persimmons 
are very common at Tottenville and Kreischerville, although 
rarely met with elsewhere. 

Among the shrubs and bushes are many highly ornamental 
species, besides some of economic importance. The common 
barberry is spreading quite rapidly, especially in the vicinity of 
Tottenville, where it is a conspicuous object in the autumn, on 
account of the drooping racemes of bright scarlet berries. IS ear 
the same locality the "burning bush" (Euonymus atropur- 
pit,reus, Jacq.) has escaped from cultivation. The black-cap 
raspberry, high bush and trailing blackberries, are in some lo- 
calities abundant enough to pick for market. The English 
hawthorne has become established in several localities, notably 
along a brook at New Dorp, where there are a number of very 
large bushes. Three varieties of the " shad bush " have been 
found here {Amelancltitr Canademis, T. & G., xmr. Botry- 
apium, var. ohlonglfolium^ and »«r. rotitndifolium.) It some- 
times grows large enough to be called a tree, as is the case at 
Tottenville, where there is one measuring 3 ft. 4i- in. in cir- 
cumference. When in blossom this tree is a sight to behold, 
appearing in the dis'ance like a bank of snow. Unfortunately 
some vandal has hacked off one of the main branches, thus 



26 HISTOKY OF RICHMOXD COrXTY. 

ruininu,' its furmer synimeriy. Small bushes are i)leiitiful every- 
where, and have attracted such attention that the florists have 
introduced them successfully for shrabbery. The witch hazel 
is plentifully distributed along nearly all the watercourses and 
in wet locations generally. Probably the best known of all the 
bushes is the "'nanny berry" {Viburnum prunlfoUani, L.) 
which is so abundant in a certain place near West New Brighton 
that it is called " nanny berry hill." It is used successfully for 
hedges, not onlj^ in rough places, but in cultivated gardens, and 
should be a favorite, as it is never winter-killed like so many of 
the introduced hedge plants. The "'huckleberries" number six 
species, besides several varieties. The one which produces the 
huckleberry of the market is known as the " high " or "swamp 
huckleberry," although the others are all used more or less. In 
the vicinity of Watchogue they are abundant enough to be of 
some economical importance. Kaliala latifolia, L., better 
known as the "laurel," is still quite common, especially at 
Tottenville, but is too conspicuous and handsome a bush to 
stand long near a thickly settled community. The Rhododen- 
dron maximum, L., has alreaily suffered for its beauty and has 
become completely exterminated on the island, within the 
memory of people now living iiere. The azalea seems destined 
to share the same fate, although not so rapidly. It has already 
disappeared from hundreds of acres where it was abundant a 
few years ago. Benzoin {Lindera Benzoin, Meisner) is com- 
mon along nearly all water courses. The Albert nut forms a 
considerable part of the underbrush in certain places, and is 
scattered along hedge rows and the borders of woods in others. 
Myrica cerifera, L., the "wax myrtle" or "sweet bay," is 
common throughout, and was formerly the source from which 
the early settleis derived considerable of their tallow forcandles 
and other purposes by boiling the berries. The alder {Alntts 
serrulata. Ait.) forms the bulk of the thick underbrush in 
swamps and along the borders of fresh water. Hosa Carolina, 
L., the swamp wild rose, is common in low places, and Ji. 
iucida, Erhardt, is abundant in drier locations. There are five 
species of sumach, including the too well known "'poison ivy " 
{Rhus Toxicodendron, L. ) They are plentifully distributed 
everywdiere, witli the exception of the "'stag's horn sumach," 
which only occurs sparingly at Tottenville, Prince's liay and 
Ocean terrace. 



HISTOKT OF rich:\[ond couxty. 27 

Wild grapes are represented hy four species, of which the hirge 
fox grape ( F/^/5 labrusca, L.) is said to be excellent for pre- 
serves. It is the original stock from which the Isabella and 
other cultivated varieties have sprung. V. aesihmlis, Michx. 
and V. cordifolia, Michx., known as ''frost grapes," are com- 
mon everywhere, the small black fruit being ripe lale in 
autumn. The second named frequently attains a large size, 
climbing to the tops of the highest trees and becoming very 
thick at the base, A magnificent vine formerly grew in the 
ravine near the Kellet place, measuring 1 ft. 11 in. in circum- 
ference at a distance of about two feet from the ground. It was 
cut in two a short time ago, apparently for mere wanton de- 
struction, and all traces of it will soon be obliterated. The 
"Virginia creeper" (Ampelopsis quinquefolia, Michx.) and 
•'bitter sweet" (Celasirus scandens, L.) are rapidly gaining 
favor as ornamental vfnes for houses and fences. The 
autumnal tints of the first are unsurpassed by any other plant, 
and the bright orange and scarlet berries of the latter remain 
unchanged almost throughout the entire winter. The Chinese 
honeysuckle has escaped from gardens in places and may be 
seen climbing over trees and bushes, apparently perfectly at 
home. Such plants no doubt started from pieces thrown out 
in rubbish heaps. The wild honeysuckle or "woodbine" is 
quite common and is sometimes seen in cultivation. The 
" trumpet vine" is thoroughly established in fields and along- 
hedge rows from Tottenville to Prince's baj', near the beach. 
Ipovuvck pandurata, Meyer, sometimes called "wild potato 
vine" and " man-of-the-earth," is common at Tottenville, es- 
pecially in the pine groves. The flower resembles a convolvulus, 
and the root is sometimes as large as a man's arm. It is 
deeply buried in tlie ground, however, and requiies considerable 
digging to extract it. 

" Catbrier " is common everywhere, forming dense and im- 
penetrable thickets in jjlaces, affording fine cover for birds and 
small animals. The few game birds and rabbits that yet remain 
on the island owe their existence to this plant more than to 
almost any other cause. Clematis Vlrginiana, L., commonly 
called "clematis" and "virgin's bower," is extensively gath- 
ered for household decoration in the autumn, when the bunches 
of feathery tailed seeds are ripe. Another species of clematis 
(C. ocJiroleuca, Ait. ) is abundant on Todt hill and near Rich- 



28 HISTORY or UICIIMOND COUNTY. 

niond. It is a low plant, about a foot or two in height, bearing 
heads of feathei-y seeds similar to the first mentioned. It is one 
of Staten Island's characteristic plants, as it is verj' rare in 
other parts of the United States, being known in but few 
localities, mostly in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Botanists 
from all over the country have made trips to Staten Island to 
collect specimens, and they are now contained in nearly all the 
large herbaria of the land. Another plant, rare elsewhere, is the 
"mouse-ear chickweed" {cerastium oblongifoUum, Torr.) It 
grows in company with the latter, especially on and near Todt 
Hill, in the rear of the Moravian parsonage. About the latter 
part of May the flowers are in full bloom, forming conspicuous 
white tufts and masses. This locality will well repay a visit 
at this season of the year, as "bird's foot" violets and the 
delicate little "bluets" are at their best about the same time, 
and all grow in luxuriance together. 

" Trailing arbutus " or " Mayflower" was, and is yet, abund- 
ant from Eltingville to Tottenville, near the salt water. Un- 
fortunately its location is known to many people in both New 
York and Brooklyn, who organize " arbutus parties " every 
year and carrj- it away by basketfuls. There is no doubt that 
the near future will see its entire extermination if the present 
rate of destruction continues. It is one of the earliest flowers 
to bloom in the spring, generally showing itself before April, 
and sometimes during the first week in March. Other early 
flowers are the " liverwort," which is common everywhere, and 
the " whitlow grass" {Draba veroia, L.), which is particularly 
abundant at Tottenville. In the warm sandy soil of the latter 
place it is sometimes in bloom during February, and may fairly 
be considered as our earliest spring flower. In company with 
it grows the "crane's bill {Erodium cicutarium, L. Her.). This 
plant has been found in blossom there during every month of 
the year, the late flowers frequently holding on throughout the 
winter until the new blossoms appear in the spring. "Blood- 
root" is abundant in several restricted localities, which are 
fortunately not well known, and as the plant is in blossom verj^ 
earh' it is out of bloom and inconspicuous before people are 
likely to be rambling through the woods. It grows well in the 
garden and might become a favorite. The common " water 
cress" has been introduced in several of the water courses and 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 29 

thrives finely. Certain parties have for years been in the habit 
of gathering it for sale. 

The violets, so familiar to all, number twelve species and va- 
rieties, all common, with the exception oiV/'ola tricolor, L.. var 
arvensis, which is the immediate ancestor of our garden pansy. 
A species of cactus {Opuntla vufgaris, Mill.) is common at Tot- 
tenville and South beach, and also sparingly on Todt hill. It 
readily bears transplanting, and is a beautiful object when in 
full bloom. Di/psacus sylvestris, Mill., the common " teasel," 
is thoi'oughly established along roadsides near Garretson's and 
Bull's Head, and in the brick yards at Green Ridge. The pres- 
ent plants are doubtless the offspring of those that were culti- 
vated years ago when the hand-weaving of cloth was a home 
industry. 

It will probably surprise some people to know that the island 
possesses nineteen species and varieties of " golden rod " and 
twenty-five asters. Many of these are well worthy of cultiva- 
tion, but are too common to attract more than passing attention. 
In England, however, they are highly appreciated, and many 
of these species may be seen there adorning the gardens. 
Wintergreen grows in certain small patches, but is not abund- 
ant and does not seem to fruit very freely. 

One of the most gaudy plants is undoubtedly the so-called 
•'painted cup" {Castilleia cocclnea, Spreng ). It is very 
abundant in the Clove lake swamp, but has not been found else- 
where. Both the yellow and red grow side by side. Several 
other rare plants make this place their home, among which 
may be mentioned the "grass of Parnassus" {Pariiassia Gar- 
oliniana, Michx.) and the orchids Calopogon piclchellus, R. Br., 
and Pogonia ophioglossoides, Nutt. For many other plants, 
likewise, it is a favorite spot, and has quite a reputation among 
botanists as a favoi'ite hunting ground. 

The common "cranberry" is abundant in certain peat bogs 
near Richmond, and appears sjiaringly near Clove lake. It is 
likely soon to be exterminated in both localities, in the latter 
owing to a rise in the level of the water, and in the former on 
account of the drainage of the swamps. Its flourishing condi- 
tion at Richmond suggests the possibility of utilizing the peat 
bogs for its culture. 

It is a noteworthy fact that nearly all our worst weeds are plants 
that have been introduced and are now naturalized. Among 



30 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COITNTY. 

these may be mentioned Gall nsoga par rjflora, Cav., which was 
unknown here a few years ago. but has already become a 
nuisance in many places. Its advent is so recent that, although 
very abundant, no common name has yet been given to it. The 
eleven species of Chenopodium and AmarantTius, known as 
'• wormseed," "pig weed," " prince's feather," etc., are familiar 
objects in all waste places, rubbish heaps, and cultivated 
grounds. They are all introduced plants. 

"Mistletoe" has been reported, on good authority, from 
the neighborhood of Clifton, but no specimens have been pre- 
served and it has not recently been found. Twenty-four species 
of orchids, several very rare, are known to occur here. The 
"ladies' slipper" {Cypripeduim acaule. Ait.) is the most con- 
spicuous and is very abundant at Tottenville, Watchogue and 
one or two other points. The "crane fly orchis" (Tqjularia 
discolor, Nutt.) is abundant in most of the deep woods, but is 
so inconspicuous as to escape general attention. The so-called 
"screw plants" belong here, of which there are four species, 
two of which are worthy of mention. The}" occur only at 
Tottenville and are not very common there. These are Spiran- 
tlies slmpilex. Gray, and -S'. graviivea, Lindl. tar Walieri, Gray. 

The rushes and sedges number about ninety, and the grasses 
about one hundred and twenty species. The ferns show 
twenty-eight species, of which the rarest and least known 
is probably Cystop)teris fragiUs, Bernb. It is confined to a 
little rocky valley near Egbertville. "Maiden's hair" is 
everywhere abundant, as is also the common " shield 
fern," which is evergreen. The "scouring rush" {Bquisetum 
Jiyemale, L.) is abundant at Tottenville on the bluff overlook- 
ing Raritan bay. There are Ave species of "club moss" or 
"lycopodium," so well known as "ground pine" and used for 
Christmas decorations. They are, however, none of them suf- 
ficiently abundant to be of an}' economical value. 

The herbarium from which the original catalogue and appen- 
dices were compiled is now in the possession of the Xatural 
Science Association, and is one of the most complete local 
herbariums in the country. Lists of the lower forms of plant 
life (Mosses, lichens, &c. ) are in course of preparation by 
different members of the Natural Science Association, but it 
will take many years yet to make them complete. 

Years ago the island was frequented by deer, foxes and some 



HISTORY OF RICHMOISrD COUNTY. 31 

Other large animals, and within the last half centuiy foxes have 
been known, but none of these animals are now known to live 
wild upon the island. At the time of the revolution it is said 
there were plenty of foxes and raccoons, and some opossums. 
Xot many years after the war the last deer known to be upon 
the island were shot. Forty years ago the skunk abounded, 
and about that time a mink was caught in the act of making a 
raid upon a poultry yard. Wolves were also among the trouble- 
some animals during the early years of settlement here. The 
records tell us that about the close of the seventeenth century 
the county paid a premium on all wolves that were caught. An 
entry before us shows that in 1698 Thomas Stillwell received 
fifteen shillings for a wolf and Cornelius Tysen received one 
pound for a wolfs head. Different bounties were offered for 
animals of different sex and age, as was the custom in many 
counties of the state. By this means those animals were soon 
exterminated. The mammalia now known to the island are 
weasels (least and common), mink, skunk, moles (common and 
star-nosed and mole shrew), gray and flying squirrels, chipmunk, 
jumping mouse, Korway rat, common, house and deer mice, 
muskrat, rabbit, brown, red, hoary and silver black bats. 

The following list, prepared by Mr. Arthur Hollick and his 
indefatigable associates, represents that part of the bird fauna 
of Staten Island which is known to have nested here within the 
past fifteen years. Several species not in the list would no 
doubt have been included had it been compiled a quarter of a 
century ago, and there is a probability that continued careful 
search will reveal others. The value of this list will be appre- 
ciated by those who have noticed the gradual disaj^pearance of 
some of the island si:)ecies, and the scarcity of others that were 
formerly abundant. We omit the scientific names from this 
list 

Robin, wood thrush, brown thrush, mocking bird, cat l)ird, 
blue bird, tufted titmouse, chickadee, house wren, long-l)illed 
marsh wren, short-billed marsh wren, summer yellow bird, oven 
bird, Maryland yellow-throat, yellow-breasted chat, scarlet 
tanager, barn swallow, white-bellied sw;3llow, eave swallow, 
cedar bird or wax-wing, red-eyed hang bird, white-eyed hang- 
bird, yellow bird, sea-side finch, sharp-tailed finch, swamp 
sparrow, song sparrow, chippy, field sparrow, English sparrow, 
indigo bird, cardinal grosbeak, chewiuk, bob-o-link, cow bird. 



32 HISTORY OF RICUJIOXD COUNTY. 

red-winged blackbird, meadow lark, orchard oriole. Baltimore 
oriole, crow blackbird, common crow, fish crow, blue jay, king- 
bird, great crested llycatcher. phopbe bird, peewee, least fly- 
catcher, night hawk, chimney swallow, ruby-throated humming- 
bird, belted kingfisher, black-billed cuckoo, yellow-billed 
cuckoo, downy woodpecker, red-headed woodpecker or high- 
older, golden-winged wood screech owl, shar2:)-shinned or pigeon 
hawk, red-shouldered hawk, fish hawk or osprey, wild pigeon, 
c|uai], woodcock, teeter-tail or peep, shytepoke, and clapper 
rail or mud hen. 

Coming down to the lower orders and lesser wing creatures 
we have the following list of butterflies which have been 
captured on the island. This has been kindly furnished us by 
Mr. William T. Davis, to whose labors in this department of nat- 
ural history we are indebted for its compilation. The list 
though not supposed to be entirely complete comprises: 

Papilionidae. — Papilio Philenor, L. Papilio Asterias, F. 
Papilio Troilus, L. Papilio Turnus, L. Papilio Turnus, dim. 
var. Glaucus, L. Papilio Cresphontes, Cram. Pieris Protodice, 
Bd-Lec. Pieris Oleracea, Bd. Pieris Rapae, L. CoJias Philo- 
dice, Godt. Colias Philodice, var Alba. Terias Nicippe, Cram. 
common in 1880, saw none before or since. Terias Lisa, Bd. 

Nymphalidae. — Danais Archippus, F. Argynnis Idalia, 
Drury. Argynnis Cybele, F. Argynnis Myrina, Cram. Ar- 
gynnis Bellona, F. Euptoieta Claudia, Cram, one specimen, 
Clove Valley, C. W. Butler. Melitaea Phaeton, Drury. Phy- 
ciodes Tharos, Drury. Grapta Interrogationis, F, Grapta In- 
terrogationis, var Umbrosa, Lintn. Grapta Comma, Harr. 
Grapta Comma, var Dryas, Edw. Grapta Progne, Cram. 
Grapta J Album, Bd.; one specimen. New Dorp, Miss M. Brit- 
ton. Vanessa Antioija, L. Pyrameis Atalanta, L. Pyrameis 
Huntera, Drury. Pyrameis Cardui, L. Junonia Lavinia, Cram. 
Limenitis Ursula, F. Limenitis Disippus, Godt. Neonympha 
Eurytris, F. Neonympha Canthus, L. Satyrus Alope, P. 

Lycaeriidae. — Thecla Humuli, Harr. Thecla Calamis, Hiib. 
Thecla Smilacis, Bd. ; C. W. Leng. Thecla Henrici, Gr. Rob. 
Thecla Niphon, Hiib, Watchogue. Feniseca Tarquiuius, G. 
Chrysophanus Americana, D" Urban. Lycaena Pseudargiolus, 
Bd-Lec. Lycaena Pseudargiolus, var Violacea, Edw. Lycaena 
Pseudargiolus, var Lucia, Kirby. Lycaena Pseudargiolus, var 
Neglecta, Edw. Lycaena Comyntas, Godt. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 33 

Hesperidae. — Anoyloxyplia Numitor, F. Pampliiki Massa- 
soit, Scud. Paraphila Zabulon, Bd-Lec. Paniphila Zabulon, 
dim. var. Pocohonras. Pamphila Sassacus, Scud. Paniphila 
Pontiac, Edw. Pamphila Otho, var Egeremet. Pamphila 
Peckius, Kirby. Pamphila Mystic, Edw. PaHijihila Cernes, 
Bd-Lec. Pamphila Metacomet, Harr. Pamphila Verua, Edw, 
Pyrgus Tessellata, Scud. Thanaos Brizo, Bd. Thanaos Juven- 
alis, F. Pholisora Catullus, Cram. Eudamus Pylades, Scud. 
Eudamus Lycidas, Sm-Abb; one specimen. Clove Valley. Eii- 
damus Tityrus, F. 

Mr. Davis has also furnished us with the followina: list of the 
reptiles and batrachians of the island. In geographical distri- 
bution some of the reptiles are almost confined to the Cretaceous 
and those portions of the island covered by marine alluvium. 
C. Pennsylvanicum seems to be restricted to the shallow pools 
near the salt water. It occurs near New Dorp, Richmond Val- 
ley station and Watchogue. Ophibolus triangulus is a rather 
scarce serpent on the island. Ranahalecina, though found in 
other portions of the island, is much more common on the marsh 
land near Watchogue. The species of Diemyctylus have only 
been observed in the hilly districts. In 1881 the "spade foot" 
frog made its appearance in some numbers, but it has not since 
been seen. No copperheads or rattlesnakes have been found. 

ReptiUa. — Testudinata; Cistudo clausa, Nanemys guttatus, 
Chrysemys picta, Malacoclemmyspalustris, Cinosternum Penn- 
sylvanicum, Chelydra serpentina, Chelonia mydas: Ophidia: 
Heterodon platyrhinus, Tropidonotus sipedon, Storeria dekayi, 
Entaenia saurita, E. sirtalis, Bascanium constrictor, Liopeltis 
vernalis, Diadophis punctatus, Ophibolus doliatus triangulus. 

Batrachia. — Anura; Rana halecina, R. palustris, R. clami- 
tans, R. temporaria, Scaphiopus holbrookii, Hyla versicolor, H. 
pickeringii, Acris gryllus, Bufolentiginosus: Urodela; Diemy- 
ctylus viridescens, D. miniatus, Desmognathus fusca, Ilemida- 
ctylium scutatum, Pletliodon erythronotus, P. glutinosus, 
Spelerpes bilineatus, S. ruber, Amblystoma opacum,A. puncta 
turn. 

The waters about the island have from time immemorial 
abounded with living creatures of value to the inhabitants. To 
the aborigines the abundance of clams and oysters was a con- 
sideration that attracted thousands hither. Seals frequently 
have been seen about the bay, and whales have been known to 
3 



34 HISTORY OF HICIIMOND COUNTY. 

enter and pass through the Narrows, up the river. Van der 
Donck tells us that in 1647 two whales of common size swam up 
the river fort}'^ miles, and one of them on its return stranded 
about twelve miles from sea. The other he says ran farther up 
and grounded near the "'great Chapoos falls." As late as 1841 
a whale was seen sporting between tlie Narrows and Governor's 
island, and another is reported as entering the bay some five or 
six years later. The menhaden or mo.ss-bunker abounded in 
these waters, and was formerly used in large quantities for fer- 
tilizing the soil, the fishing commencing on the south shore in 
June. Thirty or forty years ago these fish were sold to farmers 
in large quantities at 75 cents a thousand. Soon afterward the 
business of extracting the oil from them sprang up, and this 
use being more profitable the price was increased until it became 
about four times the one mentioned. This practically placed 
the fish beyond the reach of tlie farmer. Clams are found in 
large numbers along the shores of the island. The Great kills 
was formerly noted for these bivalves. Some peculiarities in 
the soft clams found at different points along the shores have 
been noticed by those who have studied the subject. These va- 
riations are attributed to the different conditions of the beach 
upon which they are found. From New Brighton to the mouth 
of the Nari'ows, where the shore is rocky, the clams are only 
of moderate size, the ends being often broken and the outside 
of the shell corrugated. On the sandy beach of the south 
shore, which is open to the sea. the sliells are verj' thin and of 
even growth. All the lateral and transverse markings are com- 
plete, the shells often very beautiful in form and color, and 
here the largest specimens are found. About a half-mile south- 
west of the "Elm Tree Light " the shoi'e is composed of salt 
meadow or peat, which is supposed to be too hard for the free 
development of well formed shells, hence the clams found there 
exhibit more deformities and are often more rounded in shape 
than those found elsewhere. Beyond Seguine's point, however, 
the shore resembles in character that of New Brighton, and the 
clams also correspond to those of that shore. The oyster 
growth and habits will be more particularlj" noticed in connec- 
tion with that industry. 

Many traces of the savage occupants have been found upon 
the island. These are most common along the shores from 
Prince's bay around to \yatchogue. Shell heaps are found 



HISTORY OF KIOHMOND COUNTY. 35 

that indicate tliat the worlv of wampum manufacture and the 
preparation of clams and oysters for food was carried on in 
those localities. The two most fruitful localities in affording 
Indian relics are perhaps Tottenville and Watchogue. Hun- 
dreds of implements have been found, some mixed up with 
debris of the shell heaps and others scattered over the fields. 
These implements consist of net-sinkers, hammer stones, axes, 
arrow-heads, mortars, pestles, beads, anvils, and others the use 
of which is unknown. Arrow-heads were found by the bushel, 
being tiirned up by the plow in most of the fields. Indian 
burying grounds have been discovered near Tottenville, and 
isolated remains at other points. In these interments various 
implements accompanied the l)odies, among which were arrow- 
heads such as were used in war, those being distinguishable 
from the arrow-heads used in hunting. Nearly all the arrows 
found about the fields are of the latter kind. Among the 
objects of sjjecial interest are discoidal and shuttle shaped pei'- 
forated stones, supposed by some to have been intended as 
ceremonial implements of some kind, and by others to have 
been for the practical purpose of shaping bow-strings by draw- 
ing the soft material back and forth through the small holes. 
The discoidal stones have the opposite flat faces either ground 
roughly or polished, and are of hard quartzite. The only 
shuttle-shaped stone found is composed of soft banded slate. 
As no material of this kind exists here it is supposed that this 
specimen had been br(jught from Ohio or Illinois, where similar 
objects had been found. Evidences of lire places have been 
noticed in several of the shell mounds, specimens of cracked 
and partly fused stone having been found. In some of the 
stones the surface was entirely fused into a glass-like slag. 
One of the most striking curiosities of this nature, however, is 
the stone head found near Clifton in 188-1. This was unearthed 
by Mr. James Clark, in the latter part of February, while dig- 
ging up the root of a blue huckleberry bush which he intended 
to use in the manufacture of rustic basket work. It lay about 
eighteen inches under the soil at a point two to three hundred 
feet east of the railroad track, and near the Fingerboard road, 
at the edge of a low dense swamp. In digging with a pick, that 
instrument struck the stone and turned it up. The material is a 
brown sandstone, apparently more compact than thecommonNew 
Jersey sandstone, and composed almost entirely of grains of 



36 HISTOUY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

quartz with an occasional small pebble. The head is seven inches 
high, four inches through the cheeks and six inches from the tip 
of the nose through to the back of the head, and its weight is 
about eight pounds. The nostrils are one and seven-eighths 
inches across their base and the eyes are one and a quarter 
inches long and five-eighths wide. They are raised in the cen- 
ters and have a groove running around close to the lids. A 
round hole one-fifth inch deep had been drilled in the lower 
part of the nose, in the space between the two nostrils, evidently 
for the purpose of fastening an ornament, and both nostrils 
were hollowed out to some depth. The cheeks, in their lower 
part, are sunken in a very curious manner, causing the cheek 
bones to stand up very high. The forehead is low and retreats 
at an angle of sixty degrees. A trace of what had been or was 
to be the ear was noticeable on the right side. The back and 
upper parts of the head are almost entirely rough and unworked, 
as though the image had never been finished, or else was only 
a part of some larger figure. The surface is rough and slightly 
weathered, the cheeks, forehead and chin having single grains 
of sand apparently raised above the surface as if by age and 
exposure. The features are too well cut for a common off-hand 
piece of work by a stone maker. The style is not Egyptian or 
Eastern, so it does not appear that it could have been thrown 
out here by any sailor or other person who had ever brought it 
from across the ocean. It is said to bear some resemblance to 
the Mexican, and still more to the Aztec style of work. The 
spot where it was found is and lias been within the memory of 
man an unfrequented wild, remote from any habitation, and the 
soil in which it lay is a compact sandy clay of light brown 
color, in which a stone like this might lie buried for centuries 
without much disintegration. 

But we must draw this chapter of description to a close; but 
in doing so we cannot refrain from introducing the beautiful 
poem by James Burke, entitled "The Isle of the Buy," which so 
aptly describes the island whose history we are about to notice : 

Up from the waters that come as the daughters 

Of Neptune, the lord of the wide spreading main, 
Bringing with pleasure, love, homage and treasure 

To lay on the altar of Liberty's Fane, — 
Rises serenely, resplendent and queenly, 

As far-famed Atlantis, in Hercules' day, — 
Sweet Staten Island, of valley and highland. 

So fair that we name her the Pride of the Bay ! 



HISTOKT OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Summer caressing, while breathing the blessing 

A mother invokes on her daughter, a bride. 
Her miniature mountains and silver-spring fountains 

Are dimpled and rippled with beauty and pride. 
Valleys are smiling with pleasures beguiling. 

And terrace-like hills from her shores roll away : 
Green are the meadows and cool are the shadows 

Of grottoes and groves in our Isle of the Bay. 

Winter, though bringing his terrors and flinging 

Them down at her feet with a pitiless hand, 
Yet is her ardor sufficient to guard her, 

And laughter defies him on lake and on land. 
Springtime poetic and Autumn pathetic, 

Are seasons whose charms have a limitless sway. 
Yet do they chasten their garments and hasten 

To visit their homes on our Isle of the Bay ! 

Add to what's charming, her fishing and farming. 

Her soil and its products both racy and rare, 
Shore lines combining, by Nature's designing, 

A wharfage for commerce unrivalled elsewhere ; 
Gardens and goodlands, with wild ways and woodlands, 

And water abundant as music in INIay. 
Then Use and Beauty unite in the duty. 

An Eden to make of our Isle of the Bay ! 

History rolling its gates back, and tolling 

The echoes of ages receding from sight, 
Figures are -stalking and voices are talking. 

That show us our progress to Liberty's light : 
First the red foeman and next the Dutch yeoman. 

Succeeded by Dongan's Colonial sway : 
Hanover's scepter then subjugate kept her 

Till Washington rescued our Isle of the Bay ! 

But though her story be studded with glory. 

And Nature hath decked her with grandeur and grace, 
Yet are these phases less worthy of praises 

Than this that here Love finds a fit dwelling place. 
Refuge from dangers, both natives and strangers. 

Black, white or red, or the sons of Cathay. 
All here abiding, in friendship confiding. 

Find welcome and weal in our Isle of the Bay. 



37 



CHAPTER III. 
THE PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT— 1609 TO 1683. 



Discovery. — The First Settlement and the Settlers. — Conquest by the English, 

STANDING upon the soil of this beautiful island and 
reflecting that it has a character, a history and a name 
peculiar to itself, we feel a natural desire to review the scenes 
which broke to the view of the first visitors from the realm of 
civilization, and indeed to see what is possible of the condition 
of things that existed previous to that time. Let us imagine 
the wheels of time turned back two hundred and fifty years or 
more. Let us wipe out all the imjjrovement which the white 
man has brought here and look at the land in the full pos- 
session of its aboriginal occupants. To see it as it was then we 
must silence the noise of the railroad train and steamboat 
whistles and bells, tear nj? the railroad track and neutralize 
the grade, uproot the mills and manufactories, dissolve the 
villages, wipe out the farm fences and obliterate all the other 
marks of improvement that now exist, tiien restore the primi- 
tive forest, the unbroken sward, and repopulate the slopes 
and plains, the hills and valleys with deer, foxes, raccoons, 
wolves, rabbits and all the multitudes of animals that once 
infested them. We should still see life and action. But it 
would be of a different sort. Instead of all this change, which 
we call improvement, we should see the work of Nature glory- 
ing in her freedom, untrammeled by the arts of man. We 
should see the son of the forest restored to his native haunts, 
the tangled thicket, the pebbled shore and the groves of 
majestic trees whose heads had bowed to the winds of cen- 
turies. 

It were a useless undertaking to attempt to set forth a 
learned hypothesis in regard to the occupancy of this region 
during the ages of the world's existence which preceded its 
discovery and settlement by the European white man. That 



HISTORY OF EICHMOND COUNTY. 39 

history must ever remain as it has thus far, a sealed book. At 
the time alluded to it was occupied by Indians, but their tra- 
ditions threw no light upon the darkness that enshrouded the 
ages which had been rolling away since the creation of the 
world. They were numerous, and had been more so, even to 
such an extent that in their traditions the blades of grass and 
sands of the sea-shore were used as figures to represent the 
magnitude of their numbers. But no memorial was left to tell 
us what scenes were passing here while the great events of the 
ancient world's history were agitating the people of the 
eastern hemisphere. How long had they held sway I By 
what race of beings had they been preceded \ Was their 
course of development progressive or retrograde? These ques- 
tions are answered only by their echoes, which the hollow 
darkness of uncomputed ages gives back to us. 

To approach a realization of the primitive condition of things, 
let us indulge in an imaginative scene of that period. Suppose 
ourselves to be surrounded by the whispering solitude of the 
virgin wilderness. Along the sea-girt shore we have wandered, 
listening to the hoarse song of the sea; our faces have felt the 
burning of the glancing sunlight, and we have breathed the 
strong salt air as it came in upon us from beyond Sandy Hook. 
From the seashore coming through the interior we see no roads, 
no houses, no farms, but life is represented by the animals and 
birds that start at our approach and by the fruit and flower 
laden vines and shrubs that impede our movements. From a 
commanding hill we can see now and therx a little band of In- 
dians following some obscure trail through the valley below, 
as they move from place to place upon some unknown embassy 
of friendship or perchance of hatred. 

Looking across the valley, behold! yonder an Indian hunts- 
man has secreted himself hard by a little sheet of clear, fresh 
water, to watch for the deer that may come there to drink. As 
we look, the sharp twang of the bow and the whirr of the 
death-dealing arrow, and the commotion of the bushes where 
the game has fallen in its dying struggle tell us that he has 
not watched in vain. 

Let us approach one of their rude settlements which is con- 
veniently located on the shore of the beautiful bay, and taking 
refuge behind one of these old oaks, watch the movements of 
the savages before us. They know nothing of the existence of 



40 HISTOllY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

any race of beings in the shape of men besides themselves. 
Their lives, their habits, their religion and language are un- 
mixed — and shall we say uncorrnpted \ — by contact with the 
white man. 

We are looking down upon a quiet Indian village in the fore- 
ground, located upon a low bluff. The bay, with its partially 
encircling belt of white sand, and the verdure clad hills rising 
from it in beautiful undulations, presents a landscape scene of 
surpassing loveliness. Beyond the glimmer and sheen of the 
nearer waters, the view takes in a glimp.se of the wider expanse 
which loses itself in the hazy veil that obscures the distant hor 
izon. On the placid water before us half a dozen canoes are 
paddling lazilj' about, some containing a single Indian each, 
others several, returning perhaps from some neighborly errand 
to another tribe or village, or perhaps from a hunting or fishing 
expedition in which they have been engaged. Yonder comes a 
canoe containing three half-grown boys and a quantity of long, 
coarse grass or rushes which they have gathered from the bog 
just across the cove. Tliey are bringing them to be made into 
mats by that group of women who are seated on the slope just 
in front of us. That rude manufacture is to them one of the 
fine arts. But a much finer art is being practiced by that little 
company which you see awaj' to the right of them, hovering 
about that heap of shells. They are working out from the 
shells, b}' a slow and tedious process, the details of which we 
are not near enough to see, those curious little beads, which 
when strung are called wampum and are used for ornaments as 
well as for money. Back on the rolling elevation to the right 
of us, and in rear of the little cluster of wigwams, lies their 
cornfield. The women have planted and cultivated it, and now 
the ci'op is almost ready to harvest. Some women are in the 
field looking to see if the ears are ripe enough to pull from the 
stalk. Here on our left two men are digging clay from the side 
of the very hill upon which we stand. This clay they are roughly 
forming into some sort of primitive ^lottery, which they will 
presently harden by baking in a hot fire, when all is ready. 
Seated at a little distance from them three old men sit chatting, 
rather socially for Indians it may be, and pecking away at stone 
arrow-heads, which they are forming for the use of the younger 
and more active men, two of whom maybe seen just now return- 
ing from the woods, bringing with them the carcass of a fat 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 41 

buck, which their slvilled aim and the magic qualities of the 
old men's arrows have brought to the ground. Between the 
primitive potterj' works and yonder clump of cedars, which 
crowns the projecting bluff, some men have rolled the trunk of 
a huge tree down from a higher hill where it grew, and are 
working perseveringly with fire and water and their stone axes, 
digging it out and shaping it for a canoe. This is primitive 
ship-building. 

As we gaze upon the scene before ns, ruminating on the con- 
trast two hundred and seventy-five years will bring over the 
face of this rock-ribbed and verdure clothed island, two half • 
grown Indian girls emerge from the thicket and come running 
down the slope to where these men are at work. With excited 
gestures they tell of something they have seen from the hill be- 
hind the cedars. We cannot hear their story, but from the 
manner of its recital and the absorbed attention the men are 
ready to give to it we are led to wonder what startling news the 
little girls have brought. 

Presently the men throw down their implements and start 
with quick and stealthy tread, following as the girls retrace 
their stejis, until the whole party disappears among the cedars. 
Some women who were at work about the shell-heap and the 
wigwams, having seen these movements, come over to where 
the old men are shaping arrow-points, and ask what strange 
story the little girls brought. Perhaps these old men are sup- 
posed to possess some peculiar spirit charm by which they can 
divine things not made known to ordinary minds. To them the 
women come, but they can give no solution of tliis mystery. 
Then the returned hunters come over to the spot, and the small 
boys come running up from the shore with the same inquiry 
upon their lips. The collecting group attracts the attention of 
the women out in the cornfield, and they leave their work to 
come and learn the cause of its gathering. 

Presently the absent men and girls are seen emerging from 
the thicket and running down the hill and across the vallej' to 
where the wondering group is waiting. They are too much out 
of breath and overcome with excitement to say more than that 
they have seen a strange sight, which they fear is an omen of 
danger. As they recover sufficient calmness and possession of 
their faculties to do so they explain that away out on the great 
water something is moving toward them — something like a great 



42 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

canoe, so large that a big tree was growing out of it, and a very 
great blanket was hung ujion the tree so that the wind pushing 
against it drove the unnamed thing along. What it was they 
could not tell. Whether it was a great canoe with men in it, or 
some terrible monster of the sea, with wings, or a vei'itable 
delegation from the spirit world, good or bad, is a matter of 
speculation with them. 

As tliey stand describing the strange sight to their spell- 
t)Ound listeners, the apparition itself suddenly shoots past the 
cedar-crowned jjoint and glides into full view, less than a mile 
away. Its appearance is greeted by an exclamatory chorus 
which we may interpret, "There it is!" and then in dead 
silence the group of savages contem^ilate the wonderful spec- 
tacle. The children cling trembling to their mothers while the 
squaws crouch nearer to their husbands and the warriors, and 
all draw instinctively together as they press around the old ar- 
row makers, who meanwhile have thrown down their work and 
sit gazing in speechless wonder at the approaching nondescript. 
Fear seizes every heart, and the breast of even the bravest war- 
rior is troubled with misgivings as to what this visitation may 
bring forth. And well they may be disturbed. It is indeed a 
kind Providence that hides from them their fate. If they could 
peer behind the veil and read the future they would know that 
the vision before them is the harbinger of their own dissolution; 
the first breath of a poisonous wind that in a few generations 
shall wrest from them their hunting grounds and sweep their 
race into the great common sepulchre upon whose portal is in- 
scribed, '-They icere, but are not:" aye, the prophetic hand- 
writing which foretells their doom as surely as that which 
blazed upon the walls of Belshazzar's banquet hall. 

" The Great Spirit is angry," explains one of the savages, who^ 
is the first to break the spell of silence, "and he is coming in his 
big, flying canoe, to look for some warrior who has done some 
wicked thing, or for some other man who has displeased him ; 
but maybe he will not find the bad one here. If he wants any 
of us we must go. No use trying to run away from him, so 
we may just as well stay where we are." 

Another explains: " I don't think it is the Great Spirit. That 
is not the way he moves. It is a great big canoe, with many 
men in it. They may be our enemies or they may be our 



HISTORY OF RICHMOS^D COUNTY. 43 

friends, or maybe tliey are strangers from some tribe away, far 
over the water." 

" No," answers a third, whose clearer vision allows bim to see 
those on board, •' these are not men like ns. They are pale- 
faced, — more than our dead fathers and brothers are. They 
must be spirit men. That is a more beautiful canoe than any 
man could make in this world. It comes from the spirit land 
where our fathers and chiefs have gone. Its vvings are white 
and beautiful. They are made ot the skins of animals that are 
hunted in that world where everything is so white and good. 
Maybe the spirit men in the canoe are our friends who are look- 
ing for us, to take us in the beautiful canoe to the happy hunt- 
ing grounds which they have found." 

But all this savage wisdom does not i)revent the young war- 
riors and hunters thinking that whatever may be the errand 
upon which the approaching party comes, it would be well to 
be ready for the worst, as least so far as the power to prepare 
for it is theirs. So their bows and their arrows are made ready 
and brought out with them, to be at hand in case of need. 
Some of the squaws, though they have never heard the proverb, 
" Distance lends enchantment," still have an instinctive convic- 
tion of its truth, and acting on that conviction are retreating 
beyond the corn-field as the approaching vessel nears the shore 
on her passage toward the Narrows, while some of the braver 
Indians move cautiously down the slope to get a closer view of 
the new revelation. 

As the representatives of two distinct races of men, having 
nothing in language, manners nor customs alike, approach each 
other the new comers are able to convey to the Indians — by what 
sort of language who shall ever know? — the impression that 
their mission is a friendly one; that they intend no harm to 
them, but that they have brought some very useful and curious 
things, which by waj'of friendly entertainment they proceed to 
show them. The Indians readily see the usefulness of the 
metal knives, the axes, the awls, the hatchets, tlie blankets, the 
coats and various other articles which the palefaces had brought 
to excite their admiration and cupidity. 

The setting sun that evening closed a day never to be forgot- 
ten by those who participated in the events which we have por- 
trayed — the day that saw the meeting of two races of men upon 
the soil that had been, no one knows how long, the home of one. 



44 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

and was to be, no one knows how long, the home of the other. 
The former should decrease while the latter should increase. 

From the contemplation of these important events as they 
may have appeared from the Indian standpoint, let us turn to 
consider in more explicit and definite terms the discovery of 
the territoi'y by Europeans and the establishment and progress 
of civilization ujjon the soil which for unknown centuries had 
been the home of the untutored savage. 

• The bay of New York was first discovered, according to a 
claim (which has, however, been disputed by some) in 1524 by 
Giovanni da Yerrazzano, the celebrated I'lorentine navigator. 
It does not appear, however, that any attempt was made by the 
government under which the navigator sailed to hold the terri- 
tory discovered by him. Of course it naturally follows that 
the exploration of New York bay involved the discovery of 
Staten Island. But whatever may have been the facts with re- 
gard to the exi:)loration of Yerrazzano, the honors of discovery 
are accorded to Henry Hudson, and whatever advantages at- 
tended that discovery were husbanded by the Dutch govern- 
ment, under whose flag Hudson sailed. 

Henry Hudson was one of those ambitious navigators who 
were ready to sacrifice their ease, and even their lives, in the 
exciting enterprise of searching for the northwest passage to 
the Indies. A native Englishman, the early jiart of the seven- 
teenth century found him in the employ first, of the London 
Company, and after that company had abandoned the enter- 
prise, then engaged with the Dutch East India Company. 
Under the commission of the latter he left Amsterdam in the 
" Half Moon," a ship of about eighty tons capacity, and on the 
4th of April, 1609, sailed for the new world. He arrived on the 
" Banks" of Newfoundland early in July, and for two months 
cruised along the coast, looking for some opening that would 
promise to admit him to the Indian sea beyond. 

How easy it is in the light of the present day to smile at the 
unavailing enthusiasm of Hudson and the folly of his scheme ! 
But whatever the motives that led to it the momentous conse- 
quences of that exploration are sufficient to i:)rovoke our pro- 
foundest gratitude. After several unsuccessful attempts to find 
such an opening in the land as would indicate what he desired 
to see, he entered the Lower bay and anchored inside of Sandy 
Hook on the 3d day of September, 1609. Though not the first 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 45 

to behold, Hudson was the first to penetrate the mysteries of 
the land and water which extended to an unknown distance 
before hira. In one boat he visited "Coney Island," and sent an- 
other, containing live men, on an exploring expedition north- 
ward. These men passed through the jN'arrows, coasted along 
Staten Island, and penetrated some distance into the kills. On 
their return they suddenly encountered two large canoes, con- 
taining twenty-six Indians, who, in their alarm, discharged a 
shower of arrows at the strangers and killed one man, an Eng- 
lishman, named John Coleman, by shooting him in the neck. 
Both parties became frightened, and pulled away from each 
other with all their strength. Coleman's body was taken to 
Sandy Hook and there interred, and the place was called "' Cole- 
man's Point." 

Notwithstanding the mishap, as the death of Coleman was 
regarded, the natives proved to be friendly, and freely bartered 
with the strangers such articles as they had to dispose of, 
as tobacco, maize, wild fruits, etc. Hudson remained at anchor 
until the eleventh, when he sailed through the Narrows and 
anchored in the mouth of the great river which now bears his 
name. On the thirteenth he again weighed anchor, and pro- 
ceeded to explore the beautiful stream upon whose bosom he 
was floating; he was eleven days in ascending as far as the site 
of Albany, and as many more in descending. Before starling 
hehad had considerable intercourse with the natives, but had al- 
ways prudently kept himself and his men prepared for any 
emei'gency, and though the natives frequently came on board 
armed they made no hostile demonstrations; Hudson, however, 
detained two of the Staten Island Indians as hostages, and took 
them with him on the voyage up the river, as far as the site of 
West Point, where they escaped by jumping overboard and 
swimming to the shore. On his way he encountered many of 
the Indians, who, though they manifested a friendly disposi- 
tion, were nevertheless suspected of entertaining hostile inten- 
tions, and it was supposed that the dread with which they 
regarded the arms of their visitors alone restrained them. 

On his return down the river, while lying at anchor off Stony 
Point, numerous canoes from both sides surrounded the shij), 
from one of which an Indian entered the cabin by climbing 
through a stern window, from which he stole several articles of 
clothing. As he left the ship with his plunder, the mate 



46 IIISTOHY OP" RICHMOND COUNTY. 

detected him and shot him, killing him instantly. This was the 
firsf blood shed by the whites. When the ship's boat was sent 
to recover the stolen articles, one Indian, who appeared to pos- 
sess more conrage than his fellows, while swimming, laid hold 
of the boat, apparently for the purpose of overturning it. but a 
sailor, with a single blow of his sword, cut off his hands, and 
he was drowned. It was supposed that the two Staten Island 
savages who had escaped at West Point, on their way down the 
river had alarmed the several tribes so that when the ship 
arrived at the upper end of Manhattan Island it was met bj' a 
large fleet of canoes filled with armed savages, who discharged 
their arrows, but fortunately without doing any serious injury. 
A cannon was twice discharged at them, killing some of them 
and tearing their canoes to pieces, the .sailors meanwhile tiring 
at them with small arms. The result of this engagement was 
that nine Indians were killed, and many more wounded, while 
the whites sustained no injury whatever. Hudson, having spent 
a month in exploring the river and bay, jiut to sea on the 4th of 
October, and arrived at Dartmouth, England, on the 7th of (he 
following November. 

There is no evidence that Hudson ever circumnavigated the 
island, but that he satisfied himself of its insular character is 
evident from the name " Staaten Eylandt," which he gave to it. 

Following this mere outline discovery, no notice was paid to 
Staten Island for several years, at least so far as any accounts 
that we have of the movements of the Dutch traders show. 
Some descriptions of the condition of the island may have been 
written at an earlier period, but the following extract from a 
letter written by Isaack de Rasieres to Samuel Blommaert, 
about the close of the year 1627 (as is supposed) contains the 
earliest description of this part of the country that we have 
by one who was an e^-e witness of those primitive scenes. The 
letter was found in the Royal Library at the Hague, and trans- 
lated by Mr. J. R. Brodhead. It bears no date, but was proba- 
bly written after De Rasieres' return to Holland. A copy may 
be found in N. Y. Hist. Soc. Collections, II. Series, Vol. 2, 
page 34:1 

"On the 27th of July, Anno 1626, by the help of God, I 
arrived with the ship The Arms of Amsterdam, before the Bay 
of the great Mauritse River,* sailing into it about a musket shot 

* The Noi'th river — so called after Priuce Maurice of Orange. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 47 

from Godyn's Point* into Coeuraet's Baj^t (where the greatest 
depth is, because from the East point there stretches out a sand 
bank on which there is only from 9 to 14 feet water), then sailed 
on Northeast and North Northeast, to about half way from 
the low sand bank called Grodyn's Point, to the Hamel's- 
Hoofden,:}: the mouth of the river, where we found at half ebb, 
Ifi, 17, IS feet water, and which is a sandy reef a musket shot 
broad, stretching for the most part Northeast and Southwest, 
quite across, according to my opinion, and to have been formed 
there by the stream, inasmuch as the flood runs in to the bay 
from the sea East Southeast; the depth at Godyn's Point is 
caused by the ebb flowing out along there with such rapidity. 
Between the Hamel's-Hoofden the width is about a cannon's 
shot of 2,000 [yards]. The depth 10, 11, 12 fathoms. They 
are tolerably high points, and well wooded. The West point is 
an island, inhabited by from eighty to ninety savages, who sup- 
port themselves by planting maize. The East point is a very 
large island, full 24 milesg long, stretching East by South and 
East Southeast along the sea-coast from the river to the East 
end of the Fisher's Point. 1 

***** 

" TheHamels-Hoofden being passed, there is about a mile width 
in the river, and also on the West side there is an inlet, where 
another river runs up about 20 miles to the North-North-East, 
emptying into the Mauritse River in the highlands, thus making 
the North-West land opposite to the Manhatas, an island 18 
miles long. It is inhabited by the old Manhatans ; they are 
about 200 to 300 strong, women and men, under different chiefs 
whom they call ' Sackimas.' This island is more mountainous 
than the other land on the South-east side of the river, which 
opposite to the Manhatas is about a mile and a half in breadth. 
At the side of the before-mentioned little river which we call 
Achter Col*[ there is a great deal of waste, reedy land ; the rest 

* Sandy Hook — so named aftei' Samuel Godyn, one of the directors of the West 
India Company at Amsterdam. 

t The Lower bay of New York — also called Port May or Godyn's bay. 

t Hamel's Hoofden — the Narrows, between Staten and Long Islands. These 
" Hoofden,'" or headlands, were named after Hendrick Hamel, one of the 
directors of the West India Company. 

§ Dutch miles— a Dutch mile is equal to about three English miles. 

II Visscher's Hoeck — Montauk Point. 

M The Kills. 



48 IIISTOKY OF laCHMOND COUNTY. 

is full of trees, and in some places there is good soil, where the 
savages i:)lant their maize, upon which they live as well as by 
hunting. The other side of the small river, according to con- 
jecture, is about 20 to 30 miles broad to the South river, in the 
neighborhood of the Sancicans, as well as I have been able to 
make it out from the months of the savages ; but as they live 
in a state of constant enmity with those tribes the passage is 
seldom made ; wherefore I have not been able to learn the exact 
distance; so that when we wish to send letters overland they 
(the natives) take them way across the bay and have the letters 
carried forward by others unless one amongst them may hap- 
pen to be on friendly terms and who might venture to go 
there." 

The Indians dwelling on Staten Island at the time of its 
discovery were the Raritans, a branch of the great nation of 
Dela wares or Leni-Lenapes. From indications found in various 
localities, such as large collections of shells and bones, it is evi- 
dent that they dwelt on or near the shores of the island, where 
fish, scale and shell, were easily obtained ; this is also conhrmed 
by the fact that their burial j^hices have been found in the 
vicinity of those places, neither of these indications of human 
occupancy having been found in the interior. Stone hatchets and 
stone arrow-heads, and springs rudely built up with stonewalls, 
have been found at no great distance from the shores ; one of 
the latter may still be seen a short distance northeast of the 
Fresh pond, or Silver lake, in Castleton, and is known by the 
name of the Logan spring. 

The interior of the island was their hunting ground, where 
deer, bears and other animals of the chase were found. The 
shores also afforded an abundant supply of water fowls, and 
thus, all their resources considered, the Indians were well sup- 
plied by nature with the necessaries of life. In addition to 
these, they had wild berries and fruits, maize, of which it is 
said they cultivated large quantities, beans, tobacco, and other 
articles of their own cultivation. The proximity of the island 
to the mainland enabled them to extend their hunting expedi- 
tions indefinitely. The wild animals which were found on the 
neighboring continent were also found here, but they, as well 
as their liuman contemporaries, have gradually retired or per- 
ished as civilization advanced. 

It is supposed that the Indians of Staten Island, in common 



HISTORY OF KICiniOND COUNTY. 49 

with tliose of the neighborhood, were subject to the Mohawks, 
and stood in constant and mortal fear of them. Tlieir clothing 
was the skins of the beaver, fox, and other animals, and con- 
sisted of but little more tlian a covering of the thighs and loins. 
Their food was maize or Indian corn, fish, birds and wild game. 
Their weapons were bows and arrows, the latter shari)ened with 
flint stones or the bones of fishes. Boats were made from a 
single piece of wood, hollowed out by fire. Some led a wander- 
ing life, while others had fixed abodes built with rafters, and 
oven-formed, covered with the bark of trees, and large enough 
to accommodate several families. A few mats, wooden dishes, 
stone hatchets and smoking tubes composed their scanty fur- 
niture The fire was kindled in the middle of these dwellings, 
from one end to the other, and the smoke let out at an opening 
in the crown of the roof. On hunting and fishing expeditions 
they erected temporary huts in the same fashion. 

All the agriculture was done by the women, who of course 
knew nothing of plowing or spading the soil, nor the culture of 
wheat, oats, barley or rye. Their universal grain was maize, or 
turkey corn, of which they made bread and "sapraen" or 
mush. They also cultivated beans, pumpkins, squashes and 
tobacco. The old men made wooden bowls, ladles and baskets. 

Their hatches were made of stone, in shape like rude wedges, 
about a half foot long, and broad in proportion. A notch was 
made around the thick end, which received the two parts of a 
stick split at one end which formed the handle. The jaws of 
the handle were then firmly bound with thongs to the hatchet 
and the implement was ready for use. Sometimes these hatchets 
were not handled at all, but were simply held in the hands 
when being nsed. Their chief use was to make good fields for 
maize plantations, by girdling the trees and thus clearing the 
ground by taking advantage of the natural course of decay and 
time in removing the wood growth. 

When the Indians wished to fell a thick, strong tree they em- 
ployed fire. This was done by heaping a great quantity of 
wood about the trunk of the tree, and burning it, continuing 
this process until the trunk was burned through and the tree fell. 
But to prevent the fire consuming the part which they wished 
to save they made a swab with which, fastened to the end of a 
pole, they kept applying water to the trunk a little above the 
fire. When it was desired to hollow out a log they applied fire 



50 HISTORY OF lUCHMOND COUNTY. 

in a similar way and kept wetting the part that was to be pre- 
served. After thus burning and charring the inside of the 
trunk they finished it by cliipping and scraping the burnt parts 
witli their stone hatchets, flints and sharp shells. Canoes were 
often made thirty to forty feet long. 

Instead of knives they used little sharp pieces of flint or 
quartz or some other hard kind of stone, and these were some- 
times substituted by sharp shells or pieces of bone wliich they 
had sharpened. At the end of their arrows they fastened 
narrow angular or pointed pieces of stone. These points were 
commonly pieces of flint or quartz, but sometimes other hard 
kinds of stone were used, and again the bones of animals or 
the claws of birds were sometimes used. 

They had stone pestles, about a foot long and as thick as a 
man's arm. These were made of a black sort of stone, and 
were used for pounding their maize, which was an important 
article of their food. Sometimes they used wooden pestles. 
For mortars they hollowed out the stumps or butts of trees. 
The old boilers or kettles of the Indians were either made of 
clay or of different kinds of stone. The former were made of 
a dark clay mixed with grains of white sand or quartz, and 
burnt in the Are. Many of these kettles had holes in opposite 
sides of the upper edge, through which a stick was passed, and 
by this means the kettle was held over the Are to boil. These 
kettles seldom had feet, and were never glazed either inside or 
outside. 

Their tobacco pipes were made of clay, or pot-stone or ser- 
pentine stone. The clay pipes were shaped like our common 
pipes of that material, though they were much coarser and more 
rudely formed. The tube was thick and short, often not more 
than an inch but sometimes a finger in length. In color they 
were like our pipes that have been long in use. The celebrated 
" pipe of peace" M'as made of a fine red stone, not found in 
this part of the country, and it was probably almost unknown 
to the Indians of Staten Island. 

For fishing they used hooks made of bone or the claws of 
birds. Fire was kindled by rubbing one end of a hard piece 
of wood against another dry one till after a time the friction 
became so great that the wood began to smoke and finally to 
burn. 

The Indians in personal character and appearance were 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 51 

healthy, strong, robust and well proportioned. In social life 
they were polygamous, their chiefs having several wives. They 
were faithful, however, to the marriage relations, and the 
women often preferred death to dishonor. Wassenaer of 
Amsterdam, who wrote in 1621-33, says that the Indian women 
" are the most experienced star-gazers; there is scarcely one of 
them but can name all the stars — their rising and setting, the 
position of the Arctos, that is, the wagon, is as well known to 
them as to us, and they name them by other names." All the 
natives paid particular attention to the sun, moon and stars in 
connection with their seasons. The first moon following the one 
at the end of February was greatly honored, and as she rose 
they had a festival, feasting on tish and wild game, and drink- 
ing Avith it clear, fresh water. The Indian year now com- 
menced, and this moon was hailed as the harbinger of spring, 
and the women began to prepare for planting. At the arrival 
of the new August moon another feast was celebrated for the 
coming harvest. 

The Indians seemed to have no knowledge of God or religion. 
Some of them paid homage to the Devil or evil spirits, but not 
with so much ceremony as the native Africans do. They be- 
lieved in good and evil spirits, and their spiritual affairs were 
entrusted to Kitzinacka, a sort of weather priest. He visited 
the sick and dying, and sat beside them bawling, crying and 
roaring like a demon. He was a kind of Capuchin, with no 
abode of his own, lodged where he pleased, and never ate food 
prepared by a married woman. It must be cooked by a maiden 
or an old woman. 

Wampum was the universal money among the Indians. It 
was made of the thick and blue part of sea clam-shells and 
oyster shells. The thin covering of this part being split off a 
hole was drilled through it and then the outward shape given 
to it by means of a stone upon which it was rubbed or 
ground. The form was sometimes eight sided, but generally 
round or nearly so, and in size resembling the cylindrical 
glass beads sometimes known as "bugles." The beads were 
usually about an eighth of an inch in diameter. When fin- 
ished they were strung upon cords of some kind, and these 
strings of wampum were measured by the foot, yard or 
fathom. In their manufacture from six to ten feet in length 
were considered a day's work. It was of two kinds, white 



52 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

and purple or black. The latter was wrought out of the 
mussel shells. With the Dutch governors six beads of the 
white or four of the purple were equal in value to one penny. 
This currency was used by the Europeans for many years after 
their settlement here. The Indians made belts of wampum 
by weaving the strings into widths of several inches and they 
were two feet or more in length. It was sometimes called seewan. 
Both the Dutch and English recognized it ascurrency fora long 
time. In 1683 the schoolmaster at Flatbush, L. I., was paid 
his salary in wheat at " wampum value." Among other fees he 
received for supplying water for baptisms twelve styvers, in 
wampum, for every baptism. In 1693 the ferriage for passen- 
gers from New York to Brooklyn was eight styvers in wampum 
each. It was also used for ornamenting the person and as an 
emblem of agreement in treaties. The belt of wampum removed 
the remembrance of injuries and bloodshed. On Staten Island, 
Long Island and the neighboring shores of the mainland are 
found numerous beds or heaps of clam shells broken into very 
small pieces. These were without doubt the scenes of this 
manufacture. When we remember that this article was the 
currency of all the tribes even away inland, and that the ma- 
terials of which it was made were only found on the sea coast, 
we can see what an important and advantageous position the 
Indians of this locality occupied. 

In their burials the dead were placed in the earth without a 
coffin, but with all their costly garments of skins, in a sitting 
posture, upon a stone or block of wood. Near the body were 
also arranged a pot, kettle, platter and simoon, with some wam- 
pum and provisions, for their invisible journey to the Spirit 
Land. Over the grave was heaiDed a pile of wood, stone or 
earth. A few of these spots of sepulture have been found in 
different i^arts of the island. One of these was on or 
near the old Pelton place at West New Brighton. Here have 
been found, in years long gone by, various trinkets — a copper 
box, copper earrings and a glass pipe. The last was found in 
the mouth of an Indian skeleton. 

Tradition says that the point of the island now occupied by 
Tottenville was once a favorite luirial spot with the Indians. 
The remains of several have been exhumed there within a few 
years past. One was found while digging a cistern on the 
premises of Mr. Appleby, and several others were dug up on 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 53 

the premises of Joel Cole. The peculiar beauty of the site, it 
is said, made it attractive to the aborigines for sepulture, af- 
fording as it did an uninterrupted view of the rising and the 
setting sun. The site was also a favorite meeting place during 
the periods of their spirit worshipping. Friendly tribes from 
Long Island, Manhattan island and the Jersey shore were wont 
to join the natives here, on their festive occasions, when doubt- 
less the surroianding forests and the neighboring hills resounded 
with the untutored songs of thousands of the children of 
nature's wilds. 

The treatment of the Indians by the Dutch explorers and 
the Dutch government was not such as to inspire friendly re- 
turns from the savages. The disgraceful barbarities with which 
the Indians were often treated are too common matters of his- 
tory to need repetition here. In consequence of the savage 
passions which this treatment aroused Staten Island was re- 
peatedly scourged by the spirit of retaliation naturally evinced 
by the sons of the forest. Of some of the more notable de- 
monstrations of hostility between the two races we shall speak. 

In the sjjring of 1640 some parties, on their way from New 
Amsterdam to South River, Delaware, stopped at Staten Island 
to take in water, and while there stole some hogs from the settlers 
on de Vries' bouweries. The Indians residing on the Raritan, and 
who had manifested a hostile disposition, were at once charged 
with the theft, which was regarded as a serious offense, and Gov- 
ernor Kieft to punish them sent a company of about seventy 
men, under command of his secretary'. Van Tienhoven, with in- 
structions to invade the Indian country, capture as many of the 
natives as they could, and destroy their crops. When the 
party reached their destination they became insubordinate, and 
the secretary lost control over them. They declared their in- 
tention to kill every Indian they could find, and though re- 
minded that such a course would be going beyond their instruc- 
tions, they persisted, and the secretary, seeeing that expostula- 
tion was in vain, left them to execute their wanton determina- 
tion. Several of the unfortunate savages were killed, and the 
chiefs brother was barbarously murdered after he had been 
made a prisoner by one of the party named Govert Loocker- 
mans. Their crops were destroyed, their wigwams burned, 
and other outrages perpetrated. Having satiated their hendish 
si^irit, the Dutchmen retired, leaving one of their number, 



54 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

whose name was Ross, supercargo of the ship "Neptune," dead 
on the field. 

The Indians, goaded to desperation, not only by the unjusti- 
fiable destruction of their crops, and slaughter of their brethren, 
but by a long continued course of frauds practised upon thera 
by unscrupulous men, who first intoxicated and then cheated 
them in bargaining with them, resolved upon revenge. One of 
their first acts was to invade Staten Island, where in 1641 thej' 
attacked the settlement that de Vries had begun, and killed 
four men and burned two of his houses. 

Not long before, a young Indian, smarting under a sense of 
wrong, vowed to kill the first Dutchman who crossed his path, and 
he kept his vow. Governor Kief t, forgetting that he himself was 
the instigator of all these outrages, announced his intention of 
taking summary vengeance uj^on the savages. It was in vain 
that the prominent men of the colony counselled moderation — 
in vain that thej^ represented to him that his course would be 
adding fuel to the fire — he replied to all their remonstrances 
that the law was "blood for blood," and he meant to have it; 
he recognized the applicability of the law to the whites, but not 
to the savages. His anger was chiefly directed to the Raritans, 
and he entered into an agreement with some of the river Indians 
to assist him in annihilating that tribe, and to excite their blood- 
thirsty dispositions, he offered ten fathoms of wampum for the 
head of a Raritan, and twenty fathoms for the head of every 
Indian engaged in the murders upon Staten Island. At this 
time he built a small redoubt upon the island. 

In the meanwhile, the Indians upon Long Island began to 
manifest a hostile disposition, and Kieft found himself involved 
in new troubles. It was evident from some of his measures 
that he began to regret his precipitancy, and if nothing else 
had occurred to irritate him anew, he might have consented to 
forget the past, and to "bury the hatchet;" but just at this 
juncture some traders happened to meet an Indian of the Hack- 
ensack tribe, who was clothed in a dress of valualile beaver 
skins, whom they made drunk, and then robbed. On I'ecover- 
ing his senses, the savage vowed to kill the first Swannakin 
(white man) whom he should meet. He did that, and more ; 
an Englishman who was a servant of de Vries on Staten Island, 
was met by him and killed, and shortly after a man named Van 
Vorst, while engaged in repairing a house in the vicinity of 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 55 

Newark bay, Jiiet, tlie same fate. Apprehensive of furtlier 
trouble, a deputation of chiefs of some of the neighboring 
tribes, waited upon the director, whom they found greatly ex- 
cited, and not disposed to reason with ihem. He informed them 
hat the only way to keep peace was to surrender the murderer. 
"We cannot do that," they replied, "because he has lied, and 
is out of our reach." They offered to make compen.«iation for 
the crime, according to the customs of their people,; nothing, 
however, could propitiate Kieft but the possession of the mur- 
derer. The Indians represented to him, that it was not they who 
committed the murders, but the white men's rum ; "keep that 
away from the Indians," said they, "and there will be no more 
murders;" but Kieft was inexorable — he was resolved upon 
war, unless they surrendered the murderer, who was as far out 
of their reach as out of his. 

New troubles now arose with the Long Island Indians. Thus 
far they had remained quiet, but the Dutch, with an infatu 
ation utterly unaccountable, suffered no opportunities to pass 
to excite them to deeds of violence. Matters were becoming- 
worse daily, and an outbreak of Indian fury could not have 
been suppressed much longer, when, through the unremitting 
assiduity of the philanthropic Roger Williams, a meeting- 
be tween Kieft and several Indian sachems took place at Rock- 
away on the 25th of March, and a reconciliation was effected. 

The peace thus concluded was of short duration. The Indi- 
ans continued to commit depredations upon the property of the 
settlers, and especially was this the case upon Staten Island. 
Many of them still held their residence there, and could not 
resist the temptation to appropriate the products of the agri- 
cultural skill and labor of their white neighbors, which were 
so much superior in quantity, quality and variety to their own. 
Remonstrances had proved ineffectual, and it became necessary 
to adopt severer measures. In addition to this, the Raritans, 
who were the offending tribe, had interrupted the communi- 
cation between the two shores of the river at New Amster- 
dam, and it had become perilous to attempt to land on the 
west shore. 

In the winter of 1642-3 two armed parties from Fort Amster- 
dam attacked the Indians at Corlear's Hook and Pavonia (Ho- 
boken) slaying- thirty at the former place and eighty at the 
latter. This outrage led to almost fatal consequences. From 



56 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

the Raritan to the Connecticut the war-whoop was heard, and 
eleven tribes declared open war against the Dutch. All settlers 
they met with were murdered, — men, women and children — 
dwellings were burnt, cattle killed and crops destroyed. In the 
spring of 1643 peace was secured, but it was unsatisfactory to 
the river Indians, and the war-fires were again kindled. Pa- 
vonia, and the greater part of Manhattan and Long islands, 
were in the hands of the savage foes, now embracing seven 
tribes and numbering 1,500 warriors. To oppose this uncivilized 
body the Dutch forces amounted to not more than 200 to 300 
settlers and between 50 and 60 badly munitioned soldiers. All 
the "Bouweries," or plantations at Pavonia, and with oneexcep- 
tion only on the Long island shore, were destroyed. An early 
chronicle says: " Staten Island, where Cornelius Melyn estab- 
lished himself (1643) is unattached yet, but stands expecting an 
assault every hour." 

Early in 1644 an expedition against the Staten Island Indians 
was organized. It consisted of forty burghers under Joachim 
Pietersen Kuyter ; thirty-five Englishmen under Lieutenant 
Baxter, and several soldiers from the fort under Sergeant Peter 
Cock, and the whole being under command of Counsellor La 
Montange. They embarked after dark, and at a late hour 
landed upon the island. They marched all night, and when 
the morning dawned, had arrived at the place where they ex- 
pected to find the Indians, but there were none there. Secretly 
as the whole enterprise had been conducted, the savages had 
discovered it and escaped. The troops, after burning the vil- 
lage, returned, taking with them over five hundred schepels of 
corn.* 

To the honor of a few, howevei', be it said the Dutch were not 
unanimous in their inhuman hostility to the Indians. Promi- 
nent among the few who comprehended the situation, and 
understood what course of policy would have been best for the 
colony, was the minister. Dominie Bogardus, and de Vries, the 
patroon of part of Staten Island. They were strongly opposed 
to the course pursued by the directors in their dealings with 
the Indians, and the event showed the wisdom of the policy of 
forbearance and conciliation which they recommended. So 
persistent were they in pressing their views upon the authori- 
ties, that thej^ excited their anger, and were charged with a 

*A schepel was almost three pecks. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 57 

design of ingratiating themselves into the favor of the Indians 
for selfish purposes, and to the prejudice of the interests of the 
colony at large. The Indians understood these men and rec- 
ognized them as friends, and when, in one of the raids they 
made upon the settlers on the island, they had killed some of 
de Vries' cattle without knowing to whom they belonged, they 
expressed their regret for the act, calling him the friend of the 
Indians. At another time, when a difficulty had occurred with 
some of the Long Island Indians, and Kieft found himself in a 
dilemma, he was very desirous of making peace with them, but 
he could find no ambassador who was willing to trust himself 
in their power, until de Vries offered to visit them for the pur- 
pose. He was hospitably received, and when his mission was 
exj^lained to them, and they were requested to visit the director 
at the fort in New Amsterdam, they refused to go until he had 
pledged himself for their safetj". 

On what part of the island the Indian village, which has been 
spoken of as having been burned by the Dutch expedition in 
1644, was located is entirely a matter of conjecture. There is 
a tradition that an Indian village once stood on the shore of the 
Lower bay not far from the present Annadale, but no remains 
have been found to establish its site. From numerous relics 
and Indian remains that have been found about Tottenville, 
Kreischerville and AVatchogue, it is possible that the village 
may have been at one or other of those places. 

During the year 1655, another and more serious calamity be- 
fell Staten Island than any which had jDreceded it. Hendrick 
Van Dyck, former attorney-general at New Amsterdam, on 
rising one morning, discovered a squaw in his garden stealing 
peaches ; in a moment of anger he seized his gun and shot her, 
killing her instantly. Of this rash act, little, if any, notice was 
taken by the authorities, but the Indians did not overlook it ; 
immediate measures were taken by them to avenge the outrage. 
Several of the neighboring tribes united, and early on the morn- 
ing of the 15th of September sixty-four canoes, containing nine- 
teen hundred savages, some of whom were Mohicans, and 
others from Esopus, Hackingsack, Tappaan and Stamford, sud- 
denly appeared before New Amsterdam. They landed and dis- 
persed through the various streets, while many of the people 
were still asleep. They broke into several houses on pretense 
of looking for "Indians from the North," but in reality to 



58 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

avenge the death of the sqnaw that Van Dyke had shot. As 
soon as they were discovered, an alarm was sounded. The 
officers of the colony and city, and many of the principal inhab- 
itants, assembled, and tiie leaders of the savages were requested 
to meet with them, which they did ; they accounted for their 
sudden appearance under pretext of searching for some hostile 
northern Indians, who, they pretended they had been informed, 
were either in the city or its vicinity. After much persuasion 
they were induced to promise to leave Manhattan island at sun- 
set, but when evening came they were still there, and manifested 
no disposition to leave. They became unruly and the people 
became excited, and violent acts were committed by both 
parties ; Van Dyck, the thoughtless author of the trouble, paid 
the penalty of his rashness by being killed with an arrow, and 
Paulus Leinderstein Van Der Grist, one of the city officials, 
was killed by a blow with an axe. The soldiers in the fort and 
the city guard were called out, and attacked the invaders, driv- 
ing them back to their canoes. Crossing the river, the savages 
attacked the settlements there, and killed or captured most of 
the people. Thence they went to Staten Island, which at that 
time had a population of ninety souls and eleven flourishing 
bouweries ; twenty-two of the people were killed, and all of the 
remainder who did not escape were carried away captive, and 
the bouweries were desolated. The Indians continued their 
I'avages three daj^s, during which time they killed one hundred 
whites, took one hundred and fifty prisoners, and ruined three 
hundred more in their estates. Alarm spi'ead throughout the 
entire region, and there was no safety anywhere, for the hostile 
Indians were prowling about by day and by night, even upon 
Manhattan island, where they killed all who came within their 
reach. Stuyvesant employed every means in his power for the 
protection of the settlement at New Amsterdam and the neigh- 
boring settlements, and after awhile the ransom of all or nearly 
all the prisoners taken by the Indians was accomplished, the 
Indians receiving ammunition in return for the captives. 

This bloody siege has been known as the "Peach war," 
from the circumstance of its origin as already narrated. Th e 
island was now almost entirely depopulated, and the settlement 
had to be recommenced from the beginning. Adrian Post, the 
overseer for Baron Van de Cappelan was one of the sixty-seven 
who escaped massacre and was taken captive He affirms, with 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 69 

reference to Staten Island, " that all the dwelling-houses were 
burned in the known conflict with the savages in 1655, and that 
no other effects were then left than a few beasts, which he, after 
his imprisonment by them, collected together, and of which the 
greatest part died, while the few remaining were sold by him 
for the maintenance of his wife and children." In relation to 
the affair we also quote from the reminiscences of Altie Widelar, 
Avife of Thomas Burbank, who "settled at V: Buses:" " She sd. 
there was 2 or 3 houses at Old Town and at Carlsneck & the 
Indians run off the Island and murderd. at Old Town all Except 
a little girl who run into the woods — the Indian put on her 
fathers Cloths and Decoyd. the Girl supposing it to be her 
father her they savd.^The Indians Came principally from 
Bergain." 

The Indians of Staten Island after the coming of the whites 
rapidly diminished in numbers. As they gave up their lands 
to the white settlers they moved back into the country. But in 
reality comparatively few of them moved in that way. Most 
of them ended their days either by wars ajnong themselves or 
were destroyed by small-po.x, a disease with which they are 
said to have been unacquainted before their commerce with 
Europeans, but which afterward made sad havoc with them. 
And in addition to these causes a writer during the middle of the 
last century said, " But Brandy has killed most of the Indians. 
This liquor was likewise entirely unknown to them before the 
Europeans came hither; but after they had tasted it they could 
never get enough of it. A man can hardly have a greater de- 
sire of a thing than the Indians have of brandy. I have heard 
them say that to die by drinking brandy was a desirable and 
honorable death; and indeed 'tis no very uncommon thing to 
kill themselves by drinking this liquor to excess." 

The last of the old Staten Island Indians were " Sara" and 
"Hannah," and their daughter "]Srance." The old couple 
lived at Fresh kill near the Seaman farm, and upon it they used 
to depredate for timber of which they made baskets, for this 
was their occupation. They were very old during the first 
quarter of this century. They sold their baskets for rum, and 
then they would quarrel. Hannah finally disappeared, and no 
one knew what had become of her. It was supposed that Sam 
had killed her, for he always flew into a rage whenever any one 



60 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

asked him where she was. After the death of one or both of 
her parents it is supposed that Nance left the island. 

The first idea of value that was conceived by the Dutch in 
view of the newly discovered regions here was not associated 
with any design of forming settlements here. The climate of 
Holland and other countries of Europe, rendered furs indispen- 
sable to their inhabitants; hitherto these had been obtained 
chiefly from Russia, and at great expense. The Dutch had dis- 
covered that there were furs in the countries newly discovered, 
which were easily procurable in exchange for articles of ex- 
tremely trifling value; the temptation to engage in a trafiic so 
exceedingly profitable, was too strong to be resisted by a people 
so prompt to promote their own interests. Accordingly, in 1611, 
a vessel was dispatched to the Manhattans as an experiment, and 
so successful was the venture, that a spirit of commercial enter- 
prise was at once awakened. Two more vessels, the "Little Fox" 
and the "Little Crane," were licensed, and under the pretense 
of looking for the northwest passage, sailed direct for the newly- 
discovered river. This was in the spring of 1613. Having ar- 
rived, the traders erected one or two small forts for the protec- 
tion of the trade on the river. The position of the island of 
Manhattan for commercial purposes was so favorable as to strike 
the Europeans at once, and the traders who had scattered in 
various directions made that island their head-quarters. Hen- 
drick Cortiansen was the superintendent of the business, and 
with his small craft penetrated every bay or stream where In- 
dians were to be found, in pursuit of furs. 

The results of these expeditions were successful, and many 
others were projected, and crowned with similar success. When 
the intelligence of these discoveries reached the projectors of 
tbe several voyages at home, steps were immediately taken by 
them to secure to themselves the benefits of their enterprise and 
perseverance. All the country lying between the 40th and4.'5th 
degree of north latitude was called " New Netherland." Ex- 
clusive privileges to trade to these countries for a limited 
period were given to them. A trading house was at once erected 
on an island in the Hudson, near the present site of Albany, 
and the country on both sides of the liver thoroughly explored 
in quest of furs; and by the time of the expiration of the grant, 
which was at the close of 1617, some of the merchants engaged 
in the ti-ade had realized immense fortunes therefrom. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 61 

The charter having expired, tlie trade of New Netherland 
was thrown open, and adventurers from all parts of the father- 
land eagerly enlisted therein ; the former traders, however, 
held on to the advantages they had gained by their prior occu- 
pancy. 

Different commercial associations were formed, whose several 
interests began to interfere with each other, and all contention 
and disputes were at last adjusted by the consolidation of all 
interests in the organization and charter of the " Dutch West 
India Company." 

The powers and privileges with which this company was 
invested were not confined to the narrow limits of the New 
Net;hei-lands ; they embraced the whole range of the American 
coast, from the Horn to the Arctic sea, and on the west coast 
of Afiica from the Hope to the Tropic of Cancer, not pre- 
viously occupied by other nations. On the American coast 
settlements had been made by the French at Canada, by the 
English at Virginia, and by the Spaniards at Florida. The prep- 
arations made by the directors of the newly chartered com- 
pany to improve the privileges granted to them, attracted, in 
England, the attention of the government, and a strong remon- 
strance was sent to Holland, insisting that all the territory 
claimed by the Dutch was embraced in the charter of Virginia, 
and therefore was under the jurisdiction of England. The 
matter was from time to time brought before the authorities of 
both countries, and the discussion protracted by the Dutch for 
the purpose of gaining time, that the preparations of the new 
company might be completed. 

Thus it will be seen that the first Euroi^eans who visited this 
part of the continent came for the purjiose of trading, not of 
settling permanently ; but having become favorably impressed 
with the soil and climate of the country, they began to enter- 
tain the idea of making it the place of their future abode, and 
to devote to agriculture that part of the season when furs were 
not obtainable. The country was organized into a i^rovince, a 
few settlers were sent out, and a form of government was estab- 
lished, with Peter Minuit at its head as director ; this was in 
the year 1624. In the same year, and probably in the same ship 
with Minuit, a number of Walloons arrived and settled on 
Staten Island ; this is the first settlement on the island of 
which we have any knowledge. These people came from the 



62 IIISTOKV OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

country bordering on the river Scheldt and FLinders : they 
professed the reformed religion, and spoke tlie old Frencli, or 
Gallic language ; they were good soldiers, and had done efficient 
service in the thirty years' war. Two years before their arrival 
here, they had applied to Sir Dudley Carleton for permission 
to emigrate to some part of Virginia, upon condition that they 
might build a town of their own, and be governed by officers 
chosen by and amongst tliemselves. This application was 
referred to the Virginia company, and met with a favomble 
response so far as the mere settlement was concerned, but the 
privilege to elect their own officers was too long a step toward 
popular freedom, and could not be conceded ; the permission 
to settle upon the company's land was fettered with so many 
conditions affecting their civil and religious liberty that they 
declined to entertain it, and turned their attention to the New 
Netherlands, where so many arbitrary conditions were not in- 
sisted on. On their arrival here they appear to have aban- 
doned the plan of settling in a colony or single community, 
and separated, going in different directions, afewfamilies taking 
up their abode on Staten Island. It is supposed that among 
these was a familj' by the name of Rapelje, among whom was 
one George Janseu de Rapelje. Surrounded by the savages and 
separated from their friends at Manhattan, they did not long 
remain here. Yielding to the necessities of their condition, 
lacking both food and clothing, thej' returned to Rapsie, the 
southern extremity of Manhattan island, where they found not 
much relief but were subjected with the other colonists to ex- 
tremes of privation and suffering. But relief soon after came 
by the arrival of a ship from the mother country. The Rapelje 
family soon after removed to Wallabout, on Long Island, and 
are recorded as the first European settlers upon that island. 
Their child Sarah has down to the present time borne the honor 
of having been the first child of European parentage born in 
the colony. Her birth is dated June 9th. 1625, and though some 
have claimed that it took place while the family were upon 
Staten Island, the facts indicate more strongh- that the honor 
belongs to Long Island. She lived to be the wife of two hus- 
bands and the mother of twelve children, from whom has 
descended a large and highly respectable lineage. 

For many years the traffic with the Indians for peltries had 
been exceedingly jj^'ofitsi'^le, and large fortunes had been 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 63 

secured by manj- of the traders, but in the course of time, as 
the articles of the Indian's traffic became scarcer, and the val- 
ue of the Dutch commodities depreciated in consequence of 
their abundance, the trade gradually' decreased, until at length 
the cost of sustaining the colony was greater than its revenues, 
and the West India company found itself rapidly descending 
to the verge of bankruptcy. 

The first great landed proprietors in Xew Netherland were 
called "patroons; " they were Samuel Godyn, Samuel Bloemart, 
Killian Van Rensselaer and Michael Pauw. The two first named 
settled in Delaware. Van Rensselaer obtained a patent for a 
large tract on the Hudson in the vicinity of Albany and Troy, 
and Pauw became the proprietor of all the country extending 
from Hoboken southward along the bay and Staten Island 
sound, including Staten Island ; this grant was made to him by 
the directors in 1630. At the same time the countiy was 
purchased from the natives fur "certain cargoes or parcels of 
goods,'' and called Pavonia. The name of this proprietor still 
attaches to a part of his possessions in the locality known as Com- 
munipaw. It is to be mentioned to the credit of the company, 
that they made it a condition in the patents which they granted, 
that the recipients should extinguish the Indian title by direct 
purchase, and this was exacted in every instance. By some it 
is claimed that the director general and council had i)urchased 
the island of the Indians in 1626, but what the authority is for 
the statement we do not know. The consideration paid to the 
natives was not money, which would have been useless to them, 
but cloths of various kinds, culinary utensils, ornaments, etc., 
but not fire arms. 

The value of the articles paid for the fee of the island varied 
at different times, for the Indians sold it repeatedly. Pauvv's 
acquisition was not of much benefit to him ; it is not known 
that he made any effort to colonize it, or that he ever cleared a 
rood of it, for very soon after acquiring it, difficulties arose be- 
tween him and the directors, and he disposed of his territorial 
rights on the island and on the continent to his associate direct- 
ors for the sum of 26,000 guilders. He was a man of conse- 
quence in his own country ; he was one of the lord directors 
of the company, and among their names we find his set down 
as the Lord of Achtienhoven. 

In 1636, David Pietersen de Vries obtained a grant for a 



64 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUXTV. 

part of the island, and began to make settlements on It, 
but the precise locality is not known ; it is supposed, how- 
ever, to have been at or near Old Town (Oade Dorp). The 
dwellings of the settlers, on their arrival, were generally con- 
structed as speedily as possible, that their families might be 
sheltered. Excavations for this purpose were generally 
made in the side of a hill, or other convenient spot, 
and lined and roofed with rude planks, split out of the trees ; 
sometimes the roofs were covered with several layers of bark ; 
these were only meant for temporary dwelling places, until 
better ones could be provided. 

The date of the grant which had been obtained by de Vries 
from Wouter A^an Twiller was August 18, 1636, and de Vries 
set sail for Holland two days afterward for the purpose of gath- 
ering a colony to come and occupy the land. He returned with 
his settlers about the end of the year 1638. This was the third 
time de Yries had sailed across the ocean to the New Nether- 
lands, and when the ship neared the entrance at Sandy Hook 
he was called upon to pilot her in, as the following extracts 
from his journal will show : 

" Sept. 25, 1638. On board the ship of the West India Com- 
pany, sailed from Holland. 

"Dec. 26. Got sight of Sandy Hook. The captain * * * 
at the request of the passengers, who all had their homes in the 
New-Netherlands, solicited me to pilot the ship in, which I did, 
and anchored the same evening before Staten Island, which was 
my iiroperty, and put my people on shore." 

Other memoranda made by de Vries at different dates tell 
in his own language something of his connection with the 
island. Under date of August 13, 1636, he says: '' I requested 
Wouter Van Twiller to put Staten Island down in ray name, 
intending to form a colony there, which was granted." Under 
date of January o, 1639, he writes: "Sent my jaeople to Staten 
Island, to commence the colony and buildings." But his pos- 
session of the island was disturbed as we see by this entry of 
August 20, 1641: " Arrived, the ship Ej'ckenboom, and had on 
board a person named Malyn, who said he was the owner of 
Staten Island, that it was given to him and to Mr. Van Der 
Horst by the directors of the comiiany. I could not believe 
this, having left the country in 1638 to take possession of this 
island, and in that time have settled there. I could not think 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 65 

that the directors of the company would act in this way, it be- 
ing granted by the sixth article, and we being the first occu- 
pants and of course it could not be taken from us." 

The two following entries givetis deVries' view of the Indian 
massacre of 1641. September 1st of that year he wi^ites : "My 
people were murdered on Staten Island by the Indians of 
Raritan. They told an Indian who was assisting my people 
that we should now come to fight for the killing of the men as 
we formerly had done for the hogs, with the stealing of which 
they were wrongfully accused. It was done by the servants of 
the company, then going to the South river, who landed first at 
Staten Island to take in wood and water, when they stole the 
hogs and the blame was laid on the innocent Indians, who 
tho' cunning enough, will do no harm if no harm is done to 
them. And so my colony of Staten Island was smothered in 
its birth by the management of Governor Kieft, who wanted to 
avenge the wrongs of his people on the Indians." On the day 
following, that is, September 2, 1641, we have this entry : "An 
Indian chief belonging to the Tankitekes, called Pacham, came 
to the fort in much triumph, with the hand of a dead man 
hanging on a stick, saying it was the hand of the chief who had 
killed our people at Staten Island, who had avenged the wrongs 
of the Swannekins, whose friend he was." 

De Vries is said to liave been a literary man, and was the 
author of a historical work. There is no evidence that he re- 
sided upon the island himself. The settlers introduced by him, 
however, prospered for a time, until, as we have already seen, 
their bouweries or farms were desolated by the savages. DeVries 
remained in the colony for several years, and for some time 
thereafter maintained his hold on the "bouwerie" on Staten 
Island, but the relations existing between the Dutch and the 
Indians were not favorable to the growth of a settlement here, 
and though we have evidence to support the above statement in 
the fact that de Vries' bouwerie was excepted from the grant to 
Melyn, and also the fact that an Englishman residing here in 
the service of de Vries, was killed in 1642, yet it is probable 
that he soon afterward abandoned the attempt to maintain a 
settlement here. 

The third attempt to found a settlement on Staten Island was 
made by a Dutch merchant by the name of Cornells Melyn. 
He came from Antwerp, and his first visit was made here in 

5 



66 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

1039. July 3, 1640, he oblained an order from the directors in 
Holland, authorizing him to take possession of Staten Island 
and erect it into a "Colonie." But on his passage hither, in 
February, 1041, the vessel in which he sailed was captured 
by the " Dunkirkers." and he thus lost all he had on board, 
and was glad to reach his native shores in sfffety. He was 
obliged then to apply to the directors for a passage to the New 
Netherlands, which he obtained, and again embarked, with his 
family and some goods for trade with the Indians, to the 
value of about 1,000 guilders. This voyage was made on 
board the ship " Eyckenbooni "(meaning "oak tree"), and he ar- 
rived at New Amsterdam August 20, 1641. He received letters 
patent from the directors, bearing date June 19th, 1642, for 
the whole of Staten Island (excepting the bouwerie of Capt. de 
Vries), and constituting him patroon of the island, investing 
him at the same time with all the powers, jurisdiction and 
j)re-eminences of that privileged order. 

During the administration of Kieft, Melyn, the patroon of 
Staten Island, lived in a state of unremitting hostility with 
him. Having adopted, in a great measure, the policy of de 
Yries in the treatment of the Indians, though not as success- 
fully, he found himself in almost constant collision with Kieft, 
who was prompt to notice and avenge every act of the savages 
which he could torture into a hostile demonstration. 

Kieft continued to reside at New Amsterdam for a short time 
after he had been superseded, and Melyn improved the oppor- 
tunity to prefer charges against him. Stuyvesant, though on 
the whole disposed to deal justly with all men, would brook no 
direct attack upon the dignity of the directorship, either in his 
own person or in that of his predecessor, and this was the light 
in which he chose to regard Melyn' s complaint, so when these 
charges were preferred they were met by counter-charges from 
the ex director, among which was one that Melyn had said he 
•could get no justice from Kieft. However true the assertion 
may have been in its application to Kieft, it proved quite true 
in application to Stuyvesant, for after a long investigation, the 
attorney-general expressed an opinion that both Melyn and 
Kuyter, who had also been implicated in the charges, ought to 
suffer death. The director, however, knowing that his public 
acts were likely to be reviewed, was disposed to deal more 
leniently with them ; he therefore, with the consent of the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 67 

majority of the council, condemned Melyn to a banishment of 
seven years and a tine of tliree hundred guilders and Kuyter to 
three years' banishment and a line of one hundred and fifty 
guilders. 

In accordance with this sentence, the defendants were sent to 
Holland.* The attention of the government was immediately 
called to the manner in which justice was administered in the 
colony, by an appeal which the banished patroon and his asso- 
ciates took on their arrival. An elaborate investigation followed, 
and the sentence was reversed; the director was also censured, 
and required to return home and answer for his arbitrary con- 
duct. Melyn, armed with the necessary documents, returned 
triumphantly to New Amsterdam, and had the satisfaction of 
serving them upon the director in person. These proceedings 
on the part of the patroon were far from mollifying the direc- 
tor; and, as he had proved to be a dangerous man to meddle with 
arbitrarily, he gratified his animosity by acts of hostility to 
Melyn' s family. Jacob Loper, the son-in-law of the patroon, 
who had served under Stuyvesant in the West Indies, applied 
for permission to make a trading voj^age to South River, Dela- 
ware, but it was peremptorily refused. 

Stuyvesant' s representatives appeared before the tribunal 
which had cited him, to answer for and defend the acts of tlieir 
principal. The opinion of the court was that Melyn had been 
seriously injured in his property and person for no other crime 
or cause than presuming to diflfer in opinion with the director. 
In the meantime the trade of the colony had become less re- 
munerative, and the government, both at home and in the col- 
ony, had become involved in complications with other powers 
to such an extent as to divert attention from Melyn' s cause, 
and it was left for the time in abeyance. 

*The ex-director, Kieft, was al80 a passenger on the same vessel. In regard to 
their treatment and the events of the voyage we may quote another chronicle: — 
'• They were brought on board like criminals, and torn away from their goods, 
their wives, and their children . The Princess (the name of the ship) was to carry 
the director and these two faithful patriots away from New Netherland; but, 
coming into the wrong channel, it struck upon a rock and was wrecked. And 
now, this wicked Kieft, seeing death before his eyes, sighed deeply, and, turning 
to these two (Melyn and Kuyter), said: ' Friends, I have been unjust towai'ds you; 
can you forgive me'' Towards morning the ship was broken to pieces. Among 
those drowned were MelTO"s son. the minister, Bogardus. Kieft, Captain John De 
Vries, and a great number of other persons. Much treasure was lost, as Kieft 
was on his return with a fortune of four hundred thousand guilders — 160,000 
dollars." 



68 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Melyn's ajppeal seems to have at last gained the reversal of 
the sentence which had been imposed upon him by Stuyvesant. 
Bnt notwithstanding this, the persecutions of the governor seem' 
to have continued with unabated zeal. In the spring of 1650 
Melyn associated with himself Baron Van Cappelan, a man of 
wealth, who immediately fitted out a ship called the " New 
Netherland's Fortune," with a cargo and some twenty colonists 
for Staten Island. The ship was commanded by Capt. Adrian 
Post. 

The passage was one of extraordinary length and the sea was 
unusually boisterous, and they were obliged to put into Rhode 
Island for supplies. They did not reach New Amsterdam until 
the following winter. Making this stop at Rhode Island the 
occasion for another persecution, Stuyvesant seized the ship 
under the pretext that it belonged to Melyn, and caused it and 
the cargo to be sold. It was purchased by Thomas "Willet, who 
sent it on a voyage to Virginia, and thence to Holland, where 
Van Cappelan replevined it, and after a protracted law suit, the 
West India company was obliged to pay a large sum in conse- 
quence of the illegal act of its repi'esentative and servant in 
New Netherland. 

The harassed patroon immediately withdrew to his " colonie" 
on Staten Island, from whence he was summoned by Stuyvesant 
to appear, and answer to new charges which had been preferred 
against him. This summons he positively refused to obey, and 
a lot of land, with a house on it, in New Amsterdam, belong- 
ing to him, was declared confiscated, and accordingly was sold. 
Melyn now fortified himself on the island and established a 
manorial court. 

Among the charges preferred against Melyn were the follow- 
ing : that he had distributed arms amongst the Indians, and had 
endeavored to excite hostile feelings toward the director among 
some of the river tribes. When he left Holland the patroon 
had taken the precaution of furnishing himself with a "safe 
conduct," as it was called, which was a sort of protection 
against further aggressions on the part of Stuyvesant ; to this, 
however, he paid little regard when he had the patroon in his 
power ; but now that he had proved contumacious by refusing 
to appear, and putting himself into his enemy's power, the di- 
rector scarcely dared venture to' arrest by force one who was 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 69 

protected by a document of such authority ; he therefore 
affected to be alarmed for his own personal safety, and applied 
to the council for protection, who granted him a body guard of 
four halbidiers, to attend him whenever he went abroad. Van 
Dincklagen, the vice-director, had been instrumental in assist- 
ing both Van Cappelan and Melyn in promoting the successful 
settlement of Staten Island ; he therefore fell under the dis- 
pleasure of the director, who ordei-ed him to resign, or the 
council to expel him from their body, but he refused to resign, 
and detied the council to expel him, as they had no more power 
to deprive him of his office than the director himself, as both 
held their commissions from the same authority at home. 
Nevertheless, he was arrested and imprisoned in the guard- 
house, and the counsel who had defended him was forbidden to 
practice his j)rofession in the colony. After the lapse of several 
days the vice-director was liberated, and immediately took up 
his residence with Melyn on Staten Island. 

These settlements were probably located on the east side of 
the island, between the Narrows and the locality known as Old 
Town, or "Oude Dorp," as it was called. But all traces of 
these settlements have long since vanished, and no records are 
left to tell us of their locality. Though the site was well se- 
lected in some respects — sheltered by hills on the north, acces- 
sible by water, convenient for fishing, and comprising both up- 
land and meadow — it was early abandoned for other situations. 
An atmosphere of misfortune, too, seemed to hover over it. 
The fii-st plantation, by de Vries, had been destroyed ; Melyn, 
the patroon, and all connected with him seemed to be the 
especial objects of the governor's animosity, and we now come 
to the period when the settlement is again wiped out by the 
bloody Indian raid of 1655, an account of which has already 
been given. At that time Baron Van Cappelan' s colonists 
numbered " ninety souls in eleven bouweries," all of whom 
were killed or dispersed. The island was now depopulated, and 
the settlement had to be re-commenced. Van Cappelan did 
what he could to induce the affrighted people to return to their 
desolated homes, and sent out new colonists. These efforts were 
made by Van Dincklagen, his agent. To avert the probability 
of another attack, he negotiated another purchase of the island 
from the Indians, and made a treaty with them. This was done 



70 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

on the 10th of July, 1657.* These proceedings on his part were ' 
disapproved by the directors of the company at home, who 
insisted that all settlers' titles should come through them. 
Stnyvesant was, therefore, directed to declare the late purchase 
void, to secure the Indian title for the company, and then to 
convey to Van Cappelan what land he might require. 

In 1661 Mel5'n returned to Holland, having, in consideration 
of fifteen hundred guilders (six hundred dollars), conveyed all 
his interest in Staten Island to the West India Company. The 
deed was dated June 14, 1659. He was also granted an amnesty 
for all offenses which had been charged upon him by either 
Stuyvesant or his predecessor. Van Cappelan being dead, the 
company also purchased all the title he had to any part of the 
island during his life time, and thus became the possessors of 
the whole of it. 

About this time Johannes de Decker, who first came to "New 
Amsterdam in 1655, acquired title to one hundred and twenty 
acres of land on Staten Island. He was a young man of good 
reputation, and for a time occupied important official trusts. 
By what steps he obtained possession of the land mentioned, or 
where it was located, we have not learned. By some disagree- 
ment with Stuyvesant he fell into discord with that turbulent 
official and was dispossessed and banished. The sentence was, 
however, in all probability reversed, since he was back in the 
colony again at the time of the conquest of 1664. Among the 
last of the Dutch patents was one granted to him for this land, 
dated January 15, 1664. During the administration of Xicolls, 
however, his Dutch patriotism made him offensive to the 
English government, and he was again banished fi'om the 
province. 

Some time after the peace of Breda, he applied to the Duke 
of York for a redress of his grievances and a restitution of his 
property. This application the duke referred to Lovelace, with 

*Dunlap has set forth that the island was purchased of the Indians in 1651, by 
Augustine Herman, but we fail to find authority sufficient to sustain the as- 
sertion. A purchase was made of the Indians December 6tli of that year, by ' 'Au- 
gustine Heermans," acting for Cornells van Werckhoven, a Schepen of Utrecht, 
which covered a large tract lying between the Arthur kill and the Raritan river ; 
and from the incidental mention of Staten Island in giving the boundaries the 
idea may have been gained that the conveyance included this island. But as 
Melyn was in undisputed possession here at the time, had been for several years 
previous, and continued to be for several years after, it is fair to presume that no 
such purchase of the Indians was made or intended to be made. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 71 

instructions to do in the premises what might be just and 
proper ; the result was that de Becker was restored to all his 
rights and privileges, and he retired to private life on his farm 
on Staten Island. 

He was the progenitor of a numerous family now residing 
on the island, by the name of Decker, and further notice of 
him will be found in connection with the history of that family. 

Soon after the sale of the island by Melyn and Van Cappel- 
an's heirs to the West India company, the latter made grants 
of land to several French Waldenses, and a still greater number 
of Huguenots from Rochelle, the descendants of whom are still 
residents here, and in a few instances still occupying the iden- 
tical grants made to their ancestors. About a dozen families 
commenced a settlement south of the Narrows. In 1663 they 
built a block-house as a defense against the Indians, and placed 
within it a garrison of ten men, and armed it with two small 
cannons. At the request of these settlers. Dominie Drisius, of 
New Amsterdam, visited them every two months and preached 
to them in French, performing also the other functions of his 
calling. Rev. Samuel Drisius was sent to America by the 
Classis of Amsterdam, in 1654, at the request of the people, 
who desired a minister who could preach to them either in 
Dutch or French, which he was able to do. On his arrival at 
New Amsterdam he was at once installed as the colleague of 
the Rev. Johannes Megapolensis, who had resided in the coun- 
try since 1642. Drisius continued to officiate at New Amster- 
dam and on Staten Island until 1671. From about 1660 his 
visits to the island were more frequent, being made once each 
month. 

It would be pleasant could we bring out a fuller jjicture of 
the times in which these interesting people made their homes 
here, but the data is very meagre. Their memory is by many 
fondly cherished, and by others, some of whom live nearest 
the scenes of their conflicts with the wilderness, sadly neglected. 
In the shadow of the court hou.se at Richmond, within a neg- 
lected enclosure stands a tombstone bearing the following in- 
scription : 

SUSANJSIAH VAN PeLT 

was 

The Grand Daughter of 

Jacob Rezean, Sen'r 



72 HISTOKY OF lilCHMOND COUNTY. 

and the last of five generations 
interred in this burying ground. 
They were Huguenots 
who left France when 
IJersecuted for their religion ; 
settled in this neighborhood ; 
they selected this spot 
for their last resting place 
on earth. 
Sacred be their dust. 
Susannah van Pelt 
reached the advanced age 
of 99 years, 5 months, 25 days. 
This monument is erected by her only surviving relative. 
We come now to one of the important landmarks in the his- 
tory of New York and as a consequence in the history of Staten 
Island. The year IGG-i was the commencement of a new era, 
and one which was to give to the settlement here a better chance 
for life and a more favorable atmosphere for growth. 

The English claimed to have discovered, through their repre- 
sentative, Sebastian Cabot, as early as 1497, the coast of North 
America. Their claim extended from thirty to fifty-eight de- 
grees north latitude. A'oyages were made to different parts of 
the coast by English navigators before the year 1606. On the 
12th of March, 1664, Charles 11. of England, by virtue of the 
claim just stated, made a grant of land to his brother James, 
Duke of York, which included within its liberal boundaries the 
terriforj' then occupied by the Dutch at New Amsterdam and 
vicinity, of which Staten Island furmed a part. 

The duke immediately fitted out an expedition to take j)OS- 
session of the field covered by this patent. Richard Nicolls 
was commissioned deputy governor of this colony, and his 
associates in the government were Robert Carr, George Cart- 
wright and Samuel Maverick. Four ships composed the fleet, 
and they together carried nearly one hundred guns and some 
six hundred men. The fleet arrived in New York bay in August 
of the same year, and Colonel Nicolls sent a demand to Governor 
Stuyvesant for the suri-ender of the fort and the government. 
The latter at first stoutly refused to comply with the demand, 
but after a few days spent in consultation with the burgo- 
masters and people of the city, and finding the latter strongly 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 73 

in favor of such a course, he was forced to yield to the popular 
sentiment, and with much reluctance agreed to a surrender. 
This was accomplished on the 26th of August, and the sceptre 
of New Netherlands passed from the wooden-legged warrior to 
the representatives of the Duke of York. 

It is worthy of remark that when the English fleet arrived in 
the bay the first Dutch property seized by them was on Staten 
Island, where the block house was taken and occupied. 

Stuyvesant appointed six commissioners, among whom was 
Dom. Megapolensis and Johannes de Decker, to meet a like 
number on the part of the English, to arrange the terms of the 
capitulation. These were just and reasonable, under the circum- 
stances; no change was to be made in the condition of the people 
but all were to be permitted to enjoy their property and their 
religion to the fullest extent. As the individual rights and 
privileges of no one were to be molested, the peojile submitted 
to a change of rulers, not only with a good grace, but many 
with satisfaction, as it released them from the overbearing and 
arbitrary tyranny of the director. 

Though de Decker had been one of the commissioners who 
agreed to and signed the articles of surrender, yet, when the 
English began to change the names of places, and appoint new 
officers in place of those who had become obnoxious to them; 
in short, when everything began to assume an English aspect, 
his patriotism began to revolt, and he endeavored in some in- 
stances to oppose the work of reform which the conquerors had 
initiated. This brought him to the notice of NicoUs, who, to 
rid himself of a troublesome subject, ordered him to leave the 
colony within ten days. In the course of a few months every- 
thing became quiet, and the people seemed to be content with 
the new order of things. Unappropriated lands now began to 
be parcelled out to English proprietors, by English authority. 
Staten island, already settled by the Dutch and French, was 
now to receive acquisition of another nationality. Capt. James 
Bollen received a grant of land on the island; the country be- 
tween the Raritan river and Newark bay was bought anew from 
the savages, and settled by jieople from Long Island, chiefly 
along Achter Cull, and four families from Jamaica began the 
settlement of Elizabethtown. Besides Captain Bollen, Captain 
William Hill, Lieutenant Humjihrey Fox and one Coleman, all 
officers of the fleet, received grants of land on Staten Island, 



74 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

but as the vessels to which they were attached were no longer 
needed, and were sent back to England, they had little or no 
opportunity of enjoying their acquisitions. 

The government of New Netherland, under the original 
Dutch settlers, was committed to the director and his council, 
which at first consisted of live members. This council had su- 
preme executive and legislative authority in the whole colony. 
It had also the power to try all civil and criminal cases, and all 
prosecutions before it were conducted by a " Schout Fiscaal," 
whose duties were similar to those of a sheriff and district at- 
torney of the present day. He had the power to arrest all per- 
sons, but not without a complaint previously made to him, un- 
less he caught an offender in flagrante delictu. It was his 
duty to examine into the merits of every case, and lay them be- 
fore the court, without favor to either party; he was also to re- 
port to the directors in Holland the nature of every case prose- 
cuted by him, and the judgment therein. In addition to the 
duties above enumerated, it devolved upon him to examine the 
papers of all vessels arriving or departing; to superintend the 
lading and discharging of cargoes, and to prevent smuggling. 
He had a right to attend the meetings of the council, and give 
his opinion when asked, but not to vote on any question. 

Several of the patroons claimed in a great measure to be in- 
dependent of the director and his council, and organized 
courts and appointed magistrates for their own territories, as 
did the patroons of Rensselaerwyck and Staten Island, but 
they were at constant variance with the authorities at New Am- 
sterdam. 

It is true that all who felt themselves aggrieved b}'' the judg- 
ment of the director and his council, had a chartered right to 
appeal to the XIX at home — that is, the West India Company 
— but the directors of New Netherland generally played the 
despot during the brief terms of their authority, and if any 
suitor manifested an intention to appeal, he was at once charged 
with a contempt of the supreme power in the colony and most 
severely punished, unless he contrived to keep out of the direc- 
tor's reach until his case had been heard and decided in Hol- 
land, as in the instance of Melyn, the patroon of Staten Island, 
who appears to have been a thorn in the sides of both Kief t and 
Stuyvesant. 

The religion recognized by the government of the jarovince 



HISTORY OF RICHJIOND COUNTY. 75 

was that of the Reformed Dutch church, or the Church of Hol- 
land, and though other sects were regarded with a certain degree 
of suspicion, they were tolerated so long as they did not inter- 
fere with the privileges of others. 

When Stuyvesant was compelled by the popular clamor to 
surrender the country to the English, he stipulated for the 
preservation and continuance of all the political and religious 
rights and privileges of the people as then enjoyed, allegiance 
alone excej)ted, which was conceded by NicoUs. 

After the conquest, this stipulation was generally held invio- 
late, but the civil institutions of the country were modified to 
make them accord with English ideas of government. 

There are instances on record of persecution for opinion's 
sake on religious subjects under the Dutch, but all si;ch matters 
were at once rectified when brought to the notice of the home 
government. This continued to be the practice of the English 
government also. 

Staten Island, Long Island and Westchester were now united 
in a political division, called Yorkshire, and this was sub-divided 
into three parts called "Ridings." These were respectively 
known as the East, West, and North ridings. The West riding 
was composed of Staten Island, together with the towns now of 
Kings county and Newtown, on Long Island. The term " Rid- 
ing" is a corruption of the word "Trithing," the name of a 
division of Yorkshire in England, after which this American 
"Yorkshire" seems to have been fashioned. The ridings were 
established principally for the accommodation of courts and 
convenience in apportioning taxes. 

Under the duke's government each town had a justice of the 
peace, who was appointed by the governor ; and at first eight, 
but afterward four overseers and a constable, who were elected 
by the people. Three officers were charged with the duty of 
assessing taxes, holding town courts, and regulating such mat- 
ters of minor importance as should not otherwise be provided 
for by the laws or orders of the governor. The jurisdiction of 
the town court was limited to cases not exceeding five pounds 
in value. 

A court of sessions, composed of the justices of the peace, 
was established in each riding. This court was held twice each 
year, and was competent to decide all criminal cases, and all 
civil ones where the amount of difference e.xceeded five pounds. 



76 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Judgments i-endered in this court for sums under twenty 
pounds were final, but in cases exceeding that amount an appeal 
to the court of assize was allowed. Criminal cases involving 
capital punishment required the unanimous concurrence of 
twelve jurors, but all other cases were decided by the majority 
of seven jurors. The high sheriff, members of the council, and 
the secretary of the colony were authorized to sit with the 
justices in this court. 

The court of assize was held once a year, in the city of New 
York. It was composed of the governor, his council, and an 
indelinite number of the justices. It entertained appeals from 
the inferior courts, and had original jurisdiction in cases where 
the demand exceeded twenty pounds. The governor appointed 
a high sheriff for the "shire," and a deputy sheriff for each 
riding. This court was the nominal head of the government — 
legislative as well as judicial. It was, however, in reality the 
governor's cloak, under cover of which he issued whatever reg- 
ulations his judgment or fancy dictated. All its members held 
their positions during his pleasure, and were virtually obliged 
to sanction his views and second his oiiinions. Many of the 
laws, amendments and orders enacted through the name of this 
court were arbitrary, obnoxious and oj^pressive to the people. 
Petitions from the people for redress of their grievances had 
but little if any effect in the desired direction. 

The early governors imposed duties on imported and ex- 
jjorted goods, disposed of the public lands, and levied ta.xes 
on the people, for the support of the government. The fi- 
nances of the colony were under their control, in common with 
every other department, and this power over the treasury was 
doubtless often used for their own individual benefit. 

In the orders made at the general court of assize, from the 
6th to the 13th of October, 1675, the following appears : 

"That by reason of the Separacon by water, Staten Island 
shall have Jurisdiction of it Self and to have noe further de- 
pendance on the Courts of Long Island nor on their Militia." 
From this time forward the island has been an independent 
judicial district, and the first record, which soon after began to 
be kept, is still in existence in the office of the county clerk ; 
it is a small square volume, bound in vellum, and besides many 
quaint records of "sewts," contains the descriptions of the 
ear-marks on domestic animals, to distinguish the ownership, 



HISTORY OF lUCIIMOND COUNTY. 77 

as the animals were allowed to run at large through the woods 
and iinai>propriated lands. 

Among some of these early court records we find the follow- 
ing: 

Jacob Jeyoung (Guyon) Ptf ) In A Action of the Cans 
Isaac See (?) Deft ) At A Court held on Staten Island 

By the Constable and oversears of the seam on this pi-esent 
Munday Being the 7 day of febraery 1680 wharas the caus de- 
pending Between tlie Ptf and deft hath Bin heard the Court 
orderetb deft to Cleer his flax forthwith and his Corn out of 
the Barn within ten days from the deat hearof and to clear up 
Ms other A Counts at the next Court. 

A A Court held on Staton Island By the Constabl and over- 
sears of the Seam on this presont Munday Being the 5 day of 
September 1680 Sarah whittman Ptf William Britton Deft, in 
A Action of the Case to the valew of £4. 10 s. 6d. The Cans 
depending Betwixt the Ptf and Deft hath Bin heard and for 
want of farther proof the Caus is Referred till the next Court. 
Sarah Whittman Ptf 
William Briten Deft 

At A Court held on Staton Island by the Constabll and over- 
sears of the seam on this present Munday Being the 3 day of 
October 1680 the Court ordereth that the Deft shall seat (set) up 
and geett (get?) forty panell of soetisiont (sufficient) fence for the 
yous (use) of Sarah whitman at or Be foor the first of november 
next in sewing (ensuing) with Cost of sewt. 

The regulation of the sale of intoxicating liquors received the 
early attention of the government, and the following rates were 
established throughout the province, which "tapsters" were 
allowed to charge : French wines. Is. 3d. per quart; Fayal wines 
and St. George's. Is. 6d.; Madeira wines and Portaport, Is. 
lOd.; Canaryes and Malaga, 2s. per quart ; brandy, 6d. per gill; 
rum, 3d per gill ; syder, 4d. per quart ; double beere, 3d. per 
quart ; meals at wine-houses, Is.; at beere-houses, 8d.; lodgings 
at wine-houses, 4d. per night; at beere-houses, 3d. 

In 1668, Nicolls, by his own request, was relieved of the 
government of the province, and was succeeded by Colonel 
Francis Lovelace. Thomas Lovelace, whose official signature is 
appended to so many of the old documents connected with the 
conveyance of property on Staten Island, and otherwise, and 
who at one time was sheriff of the county, was a brother to the 



78 ' HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

governor, and a member of his council ; there was also another 
brother, named Dudley, likewise a member of the council. The 
record of the administration of tliis governor contains many 
acts of arbitrary ruling and disregard of the rights of the com- 
mon people. His theory of the proper way to hold a people in 
submission appears in a letter written by himself to a friend, to 
have been by imposing "such taxes on them as may not give 
them liberty to entertain any other thoughts but how to dis- 
charge them." 

Governor Lovelace, it is said, owned a plantation on Staten 
Island, on which he built a mill for grinding cereals. One of 
the prominent acts of his administration was the re-purchase 
and final extinction of the Indian claim to the island. This was 
consummated on the 13th of April, 1670. This act has been 
termed '"the most memorable" of his administration, and the 
island was described as "the most commodiousest seate and 
richestland " in America. The year previous, the principal sa- 
chem had confirmed the former bargains made with the English, 
but several other inferior sachems now presented their claims, 
insisting that they were the owners. To quiet them, a new 
bargain was made ; they executed another deed and possession 
was given by " turf and twigg." This was the last sale made 
by the Indians. They reserved two sorts of wood, however, 
and within the memory of the people now living, small parties 
of Indians, at long intervals have visited the island, and ex- 
ercised their reserved right of cutting such wood as they re- 
quired for the purpose of making baskets. 

The original Indian deed is still in existence. Its preamble 
cites that it was made "between Francis Lovelace, Governor- 
General under James, Duke of York and Albany, etc., and the 
Indians Aquepo, Warrines, Minqua, Sachemack, Permantowes, 
Qurvequeen, Wewaneca, Oneck and Mataris, on behalf of 
theirselves, as the true owners and lawful Indians, proprietors 
of Staten Island." The conveyance was executed by the affix- 
ing of the hands and seals of all the parties and the attesting 
witnesses as follows: Couns. Steenwick, Maijor Tho. Lovelace, 
C. V. Reinjven, Oloff Steven Y. Cortland, AUard Anthony, 
Johannes Yamburgh, Gerrit Yan Tright, J. Bedlow, \Yarn 
Wessols, Constapel, William Nicolls, Humph' y Davenport, 
Cornelis Bedloo, Nicholas Antony. 

The Indians were to have tlie privilege of remaining until the 



HISTOKY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 79 

following May, when they were to surrender the island to such 
persons as the governor should appoint to receive it. This was 
accordingly done on the first day of May, Thomas Lovelace and 
Matthias Nicolls having been deputed by the governor to 
receive the transfer of possession from the Indians. 

The conveyance also contained the following two paragraphs 
which are of sufficient interest to warrant copying: 

"The payment agreed upon for ye purchase of Staten Island, 
conveyed this day by ye Indian Sachems. proj)riet's is (vizt.) : 

I, Foure hundred Fathoms of Wampum ; 2, Thirty Match 
Boots ; 3, Eight Coates of Durens, made up ; 4, Thirty Shirts 
5, Thirty Kettles ; 6. Twenty Gunnes ; 7, A Firkin of Powder 
8, Sixty Barres of Lead ; 9, Thirty Axes ; 10, Thirty Howes 

II, Fifty Knives." 

"It was further covenanted that two or three of the said 
Sachems, their heirs or successors, or persons employed by 
them, should once in every year, the first day of May, after 
their surrender, repair to the fort, and acknowledge their sale 
to the Governor, and continue in mutual friendship." 

The latter paragraph appears as an endorsed memorandum, 
with the signature of Francis Lovelace attached to it. 

Several young Indians were not present at the time the above 
conveyance was made, accordingly, in order to secure their firm 
understanding and approval it was again delivered on the 25th 
of April, and in their presence. They made their marks upon 
it as witnesses. The names of those who thus subscribed were — 
" Pewowahone, about 5 yeares old, a boy ; Pokoques, about 
8 yeares old, a girle ; Shirjuirneho, about 12 yeares old, 
a girle ; Kanai'ekante, about 12 yeares old, a girle ; Mahquadus, 
about 15 yeares old, a young man; Ashehanewes. about 20 
yeares old, a young man." 

This was the final sale of the island by the Indians, and we 
have no knowledge of any claim ever being made by them to its 
soil from that time forward to the present. It has already been 
said that the Indians were always ready to sell the island. In 
1636 they sold it to Michael Pauw ; shortly after they sold a 
part t(j David Pietersen de Vries ; in 1641 to Cornelis Melyn ; 
in 1657 to Baron Van Cappelan, and in 1670 to Govei'nor Love- 
lace. To this last sale they were obliged to adhere ; there was 
probably more ceremony about it, which rendered the transao- 
tion more impressive. In delivering possession, they presented 



80 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

a sod and a shrub or branch of every kind of tree which grew 
upon the island, except the ash and elder (some say ash and 
hickory). 

The administration of Governor Lovelace was brought to an 
unexpected end by the surrender of the colony to its former 
masters, the Dutch. Rumors of anticipated troubles in Europe 
reached America, and Lovelace immediately began to make 
preparations for the worst, so far as his means permitted ; he 
strengthened the defenses of the fort, organized several military 
companies in the metropolis, and other places in the province, 
repaired arms and laid in a large quantity of ammunition and 
other warlike stores. In April, 1672. England and France de- 
clared war against Holland; in Europe, the war was chiefly 
naval, and the English and French fleets suffered severely at the 
hands of De Ruyter and Tromp. On the 7th day of August, 
1673, a Dutch fleet of twentj'-three vessels arrived in New York 
bay, and anchored under Staten Island. Soon after their arrival 
they made a raid upon the plantation of Lovelace, and carried 
oft" sufficient cattle and sheep to make a breakfast for the 1,600 
men on board the ships of the fleet. This arrival produced the 
greatest consternation in the city and neighboring villages. 
Lovelace himself was absent from the city at the time, and 
when the demand was made for the suri'ender of the fort, it was 
yielded without the firing of a gun. Captain Manning, the 
commandant of the fort, was afterward tried for ti'eachery and 
cowardice, and sentenced to have his sword broken over his head. 

The conquest having been consummated Anthony Colve was 
immediately appointed governor of the colony, and at once 
commenced the work of obtaining the submission of the people 
to his authority, and reorganizing the government according to 
his own notions. But the Dutch rule was of short duration. 
On the 9th of February. 1874, peace was concluded between 
England and the states general, by the treaty of Westminister, 
and according to its terms the colony reverted to the English. 
Major Edmond Andros, of Prince Rupert's dragoon regiment, 
which had been disbanded, was selected as the proper person to 
proceed to America and receive the province from the Dutch. 
Armed with the proper authority from the Dutch government, 
which had been furnished at the request of the English king, 
he arrived in the Diamond frigate in October, 1674, and an- 
chored under Staten Island. A correspondence was at once 



HISTORY OF RICHMONB COUNTY. 81, 

opened between him and Colve, which resulted in a surrender 
of the province on the 10th day of that month. 

Andros having received his commission as governor, caused 
the oatli of allegiance to be administered to the people ; the 
English government was once more established, and so con- 
tinued for a century thereafter. The Duke of York, apprehen- 
sive that the validity of his title might be called in question, in 
consequence of the province having been in the possession of 
a foreign power, received a new patent from the king. 

Andros having been recalled, Brockholst administered the 
government until the arrival of Colonel Thomas Dongan, who, 
though commissioned September 30th, 1682, did not arrive 
until the 25th of the following August. He was a professed 
papist, but is said to have been a "wiser man than a master." 
The people of Staten Island are more directly interested in him 
than in any other governor of the province under either nation- 
ality ; having the whole country before him, from which to 
select his residence, he made choice of Staten Island, and the 
evidences of his residence here are still, in some measure, per- 
ceptible. 

Let us pause in our narrative for a brief space, to take 
a view of the condition of the island at this early period. 
The first dwelling houses erected on the island after the 
removal of the Walloons to Long Island, were in the 
vicinity of the Narrows, or between that and Old Town, 
which is so called, probably, from that circumstance, and 
were not more than five or six in number. There was 
one, probably, at the extreme south end, and one or two at 
Fresh kill. Subsequently, in 1651, when the Waldenses arrived, 
and, after them, the Huguenots, the settlements at Old Town 
and Fresh kill received ac(;essions. Before their arrival there 
were no roads, except, perhaps, foot-paths through the forest, 
between the two last-mentioned localities ; there was no need 
of any, for the intercourse of the islanders was with New Am- 
sterdam. After the settlements at Old Town and Fresh kill 
had received accessions, intercourse between them became more 
frequent, and, in due course of time, the road from the one to 
the other was constructed ; particularl}'^ after the Waldenses 
had built their church at Stony Brook, and the Huguenots 
their at Fresh kill. 

The houses were built in clusters, or hamlets, for convenience 
6 



82 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

in mutual defense and protection. Tradition says that one of 
the first dwellings on the island was situated on the heights at 
New Brighton, and was constructed of bricks imported from 
Holland, and occupied, for a time at least, b\' a prominent of- 
ficial of the government. If there is anj- truth in the tradition, 
the house was, probably, the residence of de Vries, who, feel- 
ing secure in the friendship of the Indians, ventured to erect 
his dwelling in that beautiful, but remote, locality. That the 
builder's confidence in the Indians was not misplaced, the same 
tradition further says that, in 1655, when the great Indian war 
broke out, and tlie island was nearly depopulated, this house 
and its occujjants were spared. In the latter part of the last 
century, and in the beginning of the present, all the territory 
embraced in the first, and most of the second wards of the 
present village of New Brighton constituted farms owned by the 
families of the Van Buskirks, Crocherons and Vreelands ; these 
farms extended from the kills one mile into the country. Abra- 
ham Croclieron, the owner of one of them, erected a grist mill 
in the valley east of Jersey street, relying for a supply of water 
on the spring now known as the Hessian spring ; but this 
not proving sufficient, he converted his grist mill into a snuff 
mill, for which the supply was abiindant. About the same time 
Captain Thomas Lawrence built a distillery on a small wharf 
which now forms a part of the present large New Brighton 
wharf. Long before this part of the island was patented to any 
individual, and laid out into farms, and while it was yet covered 
with the original forests, there was a deep ravine, extending 
from the spring mentioned above to the kills, into which the 
tide ebbed and flowed, and which, in the days of the Dutch and 
early English governors, afforded a place of concealment for 
the smugglers who infested the coast. The face of the country 
has now become materially changed, by cutting down the hills 
and tilling up the valleys. 

In process of time, as settlers arrived, they located along the 
shores, and roads became a necessity ; these at first were con- 
structed along the shores, until at length cross roads for con- 
venience of communication between the several settlements were 
constructed. Some of these old roads have been closed, and the 
Clove road is the only original one now left. 

In regard to the character of the early settlers, a writer of 
that century said : "'As to their wealth and disposition thereto, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 83 

the Dutch are rich and sparing ; the English neither very rich, 
nor too great husbands ; the French are poor, and therefore 
forced to be penurious." 

Among the earliest manufacturing enterprises in this country- 
was the establishment of a still for the manufacture of brandy. 
This was founded on Staten Island by Director Kief t, in the 
latter part of the year 1640, and was said to be the first man- 
ufactory of spirituous liquors in America. William Hendrick- 
son, a native of Holland, was the superintendent of the enter- 
prise, on a salary of twenty-five guilders per month. It was in 
operation six or seven months. Its location is not known, but 
it is supposed to have been at"Oude Dorp." A buckskin 
factory, also established by Governor Kieft a little later, is sup- 
posed to have been located in the same part of the island. 

We shall bring this period to a close by inserting the follow- 
ing extract from a manuscript found in the city of Amsterdam 
some years since, by Hon. H. C. Murphy. It gives an excel- 
lent picture of the time of which we are writing. On the 8th 
day of June, 1676, two Labadists, Jasper Dankers and Peter 
Sluyter, sailed from Amsterdam in a ship called the "Charles," 
Captain Thomas Singleton, and arrived at Sandj^ Hook on the 
22d of September following. They say : " When w^ came be- 
tween the Hoofden (the Highlands of Staten and Long Islands — 
that is, in the Narrows) we saw some Indians on the beach 
with a canoe, and others coming down the hill. As we tacked 
about, we came close to the shore, and called out to them to 
come on boai"d the shij). The Indians came on boai'd, and we 
looked upon them with wonder. They are dull of comprehen- 
sion, slow of speech, bashful, but otherwise bold of person and 
red of skin. They wear something in front over the thighs, 
and a piece of duffels, like a blanket, around the body, and that 
is all the clothing they have. Their hair hangs down from 
their head in strings, well smeared with fat, and sometimes 
■with quantities of little beads twisted in it, out of pride. They 
have thick lips and thick noses, but not fallen in like the 
negroes, heavy eyebrows or eyelids, brown or black eyes, thick 
tongues, and all of them black hair. After they had obtained 
some biscuit, and had amused themselves a little climbing and 
looking here and tliere, they also received some brandy to taste, 
of which they drank excessively, and threw it up again. They 
then went ashore in their canoe, and we, having a better breeze, 



84 * HISTOIIY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

sailed ahead handsomely." After narrating how they landed 
in the city, and describing the bay and the immense quantities 
of iish thei'ein, they proceeded with their journal. 

" Octoher 9th, Monday. — We remained at home two days, ex- 
cept I went out to ascertain whether there was any way of go- 
ing over to Staten Island. 

"10, Tuesday. — Finding no opportunity of going to Staten 
Island, we asked our old friend Symon, who had come over 
from Gouanes [Gowanus 0, what was the best way for us to go 
there, when he offered us his services to take us over in his 
skiff, which we accepted, and at dusk accompanied him in his 
boat to Gouanes, where we arrived about 8 o'clock, and where 
he welcomed us and entertained us well. 

" 11, Wednesday. — We embarked early this morning in his 
boat, and rowed over to Staten Island, where we arrived about 
8 o'clock. He left us there, and we went on our way. This 
Island is about 32 miles long, and four broad. Its sides are 
very irregular, with projecting points and indenting bays and 
creeks running deep into the country. It lies for the most part 
east and west, and is somewhat triangular ; the most promi- 
nent point is to the west. On the east side is the narrow passage 
which they call the channel, by which it is separated from the 
high point of Long Island. On the south is the great bay, 
which is enclosed by Nayag, t'Conijnen island, Rentselaer's 
Hook, Neversink, etc. On the west is the Raritans. On the 
north or north-west is New Jersey, from which it is separated 
by a large creek or arm of the river called Kil Van Kol. 
The eastern part is high and steep, and has few inhabitants. 
It is the usual place where ships ready for sea stop to take 
in water. The whole south side is a large plain, with much 
salt meadow or marsh, and several creeks. 

" The west point is tlat, and on or around it is a large creek 
with much marsh, but to the north of this creek it is high and 
hilly, and beyond that it begins to be more level, but not so 
low as on the other side, and is well populated. On the 
northwest it is well provided with creeks and marshes, and 
the land is generally better than on the south side, although 
there is a good parcel of land in the middle of the latter. As 
it is the middle or most hilly part of the island, it is uninhab- 
ited, although the soil is better than the land around it; but 
in consequence of its being away from the water, and lying 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. ' 85 

SO liigli, no one will live there, the creeks and rivers being so 
serviceable to them in enabling them to go to the city, and 
for fishing and catching oysters, and for being near the salt 
meadow. The woods are nsed for pasturing horses and cattle, 
for, being an island, none of them can get off. Each person 
has marks upon his own by which he can find them when he 
wants them. When the population shall increase, these 
places will be taken up. Game of all kinds is plenty, and 
twenty-five or thirty deer are sometimes seen in a herd. A 
boy who came in a house where we were, told us he had shot 
ten the last winter himself, and more than forty in his life, 
and in the same manner other game. We tasted here the 
best grapes. There are now about 100 families on the Island, 
of which the English constitute the least portion, and the 
Dutch and French divide between them about equally the 
greater portion. They have neither church nor minister, and 
live rather far from each other, and inconveniently to meet 
together. The English are less disposed to religion, and inquire 
little after it; but in case there was a minister, would contribute 
to his support. The French and Dutch are very desirous and 
eager for one, for they spoke of it wherever we went. The 
French are good Reformed church-men, and some of them are 
Walloons. The Dutch are also from different quarters. We 
reached the Island, as I have said, about 9 o'clock, directly 
opposite Gouanes, not far from the watering-place. We pro- 
ceeded southwardly along the shore of the highland on 
the east end, where it was sometimes stony and rocky, and 
sometimes sandy, supplied with fine constantly fiowing springs, 
with which at times we quenched our thirst. 

" We had now come nearly to the furthest point on the south- 
east, behind which I had observed several houses when we came 
in with, the ship. We had also made inquiry as to the villages 
through which we would have to pass, and they told us the 
' Oude Dorp ' would be the first one we would come to; but my 
comrade finding the point very rocky and difficult, and believ- 
ing the village was inland, and as we discovered no path to 
follow, we determined to clamber to the top of this steep bluff, 
through the bushes and thickets, which we accomplished with 
great difficulty and in a perspiration. We found as little of a 
road above as below, and nothing but woods, through which no 
one could see. There appeared to be a little foot path along 



86 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

the edge, which I followed a short distance to the side of the 
point, but my companion calling me, and saying that he thought 
we had certainly passed by the road to the Oude Dorp, and 
observing myself that the little path led down to the point, I 
returned again, and we followed it the other way, which led us 
back to the place where we started. We supposed we ought 
to go from the shore to find the road to Oude Dorp, and seeing 
here these slight tracks into the woods, we followed them as far 
as we could, till at last they ran to nothing else than dry 
leaves. 

" Having wandered an hour or more in the woods, now in a 
hollow and then over a hill, at one time through a swamp, at 
another across a brook, without tinding any road or path, we 
entirely lost the way. We could see nothing but the sky 
through the thick branches of the trees over our heads, and we 
thought it best to break out of the woods entirely and regain 
the shore. I had taken an observation of the shore and point, 
having been able to look at the sun, which shone extraordi- 
narily hot in the thick woods, without the least breath of air 
stirring. AV^e made our way at last, as well as we could, out 
of the woods, and struck the shore a quarter of an hour's 
distance from where we began to climb up. We were rejoiced, 
as there was a house not far from the place where we came 
out. We went to it to see if we could find any one who 
would show us the way a little. There was no master in it, 
but an English woman with negroes and servants. We first 
asked her as to the road, and then for something to drink, 
and also for some one to show us the road, but she refused 
the last, although we were willing to pay for it; she was 
a cross woman. She said she had never been at the village, and 
her folks must work, and we would certainly have to go away 
as wise as we came. She said, however, we must follow the 
shore, as we did. We went now over the rocky point, which 
we were no sooner over than we saw a pretty little sand bay, 
and a small creek, and not far from there, cattle and houses. 
We also saw the point from which the little path led from the 
hill above, where I was when my comrade called me. We 
would not have had more than three hundred steps to go to 
have been where we now were. It was very hot, and we per- 
spired a great deal. We went on to the little creek to sit 
down and rest ourselves there, and to cool our feet, and 



HI^>TOKY OF RICnMOND COUNTY. 87 

then proceeded to the houses which constituted the Oude 
Dorp. It was now about two o'clock. There were seven 
houses, but only three in which anybody lived. The others 
were abandoned, and their owners gone to live on better places 
on the Island, because the ground around this village was 
worn out and barren, and also too limited for their use. We 
went into the first house, which was inhabited by English, 
and there rested ourselves and eat, and inquired further after 
the road; the woman was cross, and her husband not much 
better. We had to pay here for what we eat, which we have 
not done before. We paid three guilders in seewan, although 
we only drank water. We proceeded by a tolerable good road 
to Nieuwe Dorp, but as the road ran continually in the woods 
we got astray again in them. It was dark, and we were com- 
pelled to break our way out through the woods and thickets, 
and we went a great distance before we succeeded, when it was 
almost entirely dark. We saw a house at a distance to which 
we directed ourselves across the bushes; it was the first house 
of the Nieuwe Dorp. We found there an Englishman who 
could speak Dutch, and who received us very cordially into his 
house, where we had as good as he and his wife had. She was a 
Dutch woman from the Manhatans, who was glad to havens in 
her house, 

"12<A, Thursday. — Although we had not slept well, we had 
to resume our journey with the day. The man where we slept 
set us on the road. We had no more villages to go to, but went 
from one plantation to another, for the most part belonging to 
French, who showed us every kindness because we conversed 
with them in French. 

"About one-third of the distance from the south side to the 
west end is still all woods, and is very little visited. We had 
to go along the shore, finding sometimes fine creeks well pro- 
vided with wild turkeys, geese, snipes and wood-hens. Lying 
rotting on the shore were thousands of fish called marsbaucken, 
which are about the size of a common carp. These fish swim 
close together in large schools, and are pursued by other fish 
so that they are forced upon the shore in order to avoid the 
mouths of their enemies, and when the water falls they are left 
to die, food for the eagles and other birds of prey. Proceeding 
thus along, we came to the west point, where an Englishman 
lived alone, some distance from the road. We ate something 



88 HISTORY OF UICHMOND COUNTY. 

here, and he gave us the consolation that we would have a very 
bad road for two or three hours ahead, which indeed we experi- 
enced, for there was neither path nor road. He showed us as 
well as he could. There was a large creek to cross which ran 
very far into the land, and when we got on the other side of it 
we must, he said, go outward along the shore. After we had 
gone a piece of the way through the woods, we came to a valley 
with a brook running through it, which we took to be the creek 
or the end of it. We turned around it as short as we could, in 
order to go back again to the shore, which we reached after 
wandering a long time over hill and dale, when we saw the 
creek, which we supposed we had crossed, now just before us. 
We followed the side of it deep into the woods, and when we 
arrived at the end of it saw no path along the other side to get 
outwards again, but the road ran into the woods in order to cut 
off a point of the hills and land. We pursued this road for 
some time, but saw no mode of getting out, and that it led fur- 
ther and further from the creek. We therefore left the road, 
and went across through the bushes, so as to reach the shore by 
the nearest route according to our calculation. After continu- 
ing this course about an hour, we saw at a distance a miserably 
constructed tabernacle of pieces of wood covered with brush, 
all open in front, and where we thought there were Indians, 
but on coming up to it we found in it an Englishman sick, and 
his wife and child lying upon some bushes by a little lire. We 
asked him if he was sick? ' I have been sick over two months,' 
he replied. It made my heart sore, indeed, for I never, in all 
my life, saw such poverty, and that, too, in the middle of the 
woods and wilderness. After we had obtained some informa- 
tion as to the way, we went on, and had not gone far befoi'e we 
came to another house, and thus from one farm to another, 
French, Dutch, and a few English, so that we had not wandered 
very far out of the way. We inquired, at each house, the way 
to the next one. Shortly before evening we arrived at the 
plantation of a Frenchman, whom they called La Chaudrounier, 
who was formerly a soldier under the Prince of Orange, and had 
served in Brazil. He was so delighted, and held on to us so 
hard, that we remained and spent the night with him. 

'■'■VWi, Friday. — We pursued our journey this morningfrom 
plantation to plantation, the same as yesterday, until we came 
to that of Pierre Gardinier, who had been in the service of the 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 89 

Prince of Orange, and had known him well. He had a large 
family of children and grand-children. He was about seven ty 
years of age, and was still as fresh and active as a young per- 
son. He was so glad to see strangers who conversed with him 
in the French language that he leaped with joy. After we had 
breakfasted here, they told us that we had another large creek 
to pass called the Fresh Kill, and then we could perhaps be set 
across the Kill Van Koll to the i)oint of Mill Creek, where we 
might wait for a boat to convey us to the Manhatans. The road 
was long and difficult, and we asked for a guide, but he had no 
one, in consequence of several of his children being sick. At 
last he determined to go himself, and accordingly carried us 
in his canoe over to the point of Mill Creek in New Jersey, be- 
hind Kol [Achter Kol.] We learned immediately that there 
was a boat upon this creek loading with brick, and would leave 
that night for the city. After we had thanked and parted with 
Pierre le Gardinier, we determined to walk to Elizabethtown, a 
good half hour's distance inland, where the boat was. We slept 
there this night, and at 3 o'clock in the morning set sail." 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE COLONIAL PERIOD— 1683 TO 1775. 



Erection of Richmond County. — Arrival of Huguenots. — Division of Riclimond 
into Towns. — The Claims of New Jersey. — Patents and Land Grants. — 
Establishment of the Colonial Government. — -Administration of Justice. — 
The Time of the French War. — Colonial Description. — Colonial Customs. — 
Statistics. 

IT seems convenient and appropriate in treating this subject 
to regard the colonial period proper as beginning with the 
administration of Governor Dongan, although it had in many 
respects begun several years before. In 1683 Colonel Thomas 
Dongan, having received the appointment of governor, took the 
position on the 27th of August. He came with instructions 
from the duke to call a general assembly of the people's repre- 
sentatives. This he did, and the first assembly of the colony of 
New York convened in the city on the 17th of October, 1683. 
This assembly adopted a "bill of rights," repealed some of the 
most obnoxious of the duke's laws, altered and amended others, 
and i^assed such new laws as they judged the circumstances of 
the colony required. During the session an act was passed 
abolishing the ridings, and organizing in their stead the counties, 
with some alterations in the constitution of the courts. 

The " Act to divide this province and dependences into Shires 
and Counties," dated November 1, 1683, contains the following 
in reference to Staten Island: 

"The county of Richmond to conteyne all Staten Island, 
Shutter's Island, and the islands of meadow on the west side 
thereof." ' 

The county at this time contained some two hundred families. 
It was allowed two representatives in the colonial assembly, and 
the next year, for the first time, a county tax was imposed, 
amounting to fifteen pounds. 

The colonial assembly met again in October, 1684. Among 
the acts passed at this session was one by which the court of 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 91 

assize was abolished. The election of a new assembly took 
place in September, 1685, and in the following month it was 
organized. Only two or three nnimportant acts of this as- 
sembly remain on record, and it is probable that whatever other 
acts it may have passed, if there were any, were never enforced. 
On the death of Charles II, the Duke of York ascended the 
throne of Great Britain with the title of James TI. He now 
abolished the colonial assembly of New York, and re-estab- 
lished the governor as the supreme head of the colony, subject 
only to such instructions as the king himself might from time 
to time dictate. 

We now come to a period in the civil and religious historj^of 
Staten Island of great and even romantic interest ; the arrival 
of the French Protestants or Huguenots. Years before, it is 
true, some had emigrated with the Dutch from Holland, but 
now they landed on these shores in considerable numbers, 
bringing with them useful arts, a knowledge of gardening and 
husbandry, and above all, their own well known virtues, with 
a pure, simple, Bible faith. Manj^ of the descendants from this 
noble stock now remain to honor the island of their birth with 
the sterling character which they have inherited from their an- 
cestors. 

Though the Protestants of France had, under the famous 
"Edict of Nantes," enjoyed the free exercise of their religion 
for a time, yet after the death of Henry the Great the merciless 
fires of persecution were once more kindled — the rack, the gib- 
bet and the galley again began their sanguinary work all over 
the country, and with increased fury. The "Edict of Nantes" 
was formally revoked, when the Huguenots had now pi^esented 
to their choice three things : to go to mass, sacrifice their lives 
and their property, or fly from their homes. Too true and in- 
dependent to do otherwise they chose the latter expedient, and 
half a million of them left beautiful but bigotted Prance for 
foreign lands. Every Protestant kingdom in Europe received 
them with open arms, where they soon became the most valu- 
able citizens, and many imitating the example of the Puritans, 
embarked for an asylum of safety to the new world, and to 
this island. 

These settlers were celebrated for their industry and frugal- 
ity, and commenced the cultivation of the earth. Brave and 
independent, they imparted the same excellent traits all around 



92 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

them, and above all, things else they cherished their religious 
duties and pious customs. It is a pleasant fact in the historj' 
of Staten Island, that the ancestors of the present population, 
whether from Holland, France or England, each v/ere careful to 
maintain pure and evangelical principles in their families. Their 
churches were established here at an early period. The follow- 
ing record pertaining to the Huguenot church is so much of a 
citriosity that we take the liberty to insert it in full, as it ap- 
pears on one of the earliest books of record of the county. 

" This following deed of Gifte was recorded for the french 
Congreygashone Residing with In the Countey of Richmond 
on statone Island the 22 day of may Annoque dom : 1698. 

"• To all Christiane peopell To whome Theas present wright- 
ing shall Come John bevealle Seanior of the Countey of Rich- 
mond and provence of new yorke weaver and hester his wife 
sendeth Greeting In our Lord God Eaver Lasting now know yee 
that wheare as Townas Ibbosone of the Countey of Richmond 
yeoman did by his certen wrighting or deed pole under his 
hand & sealle bearing date The seaventh day of feberary and in 
the third yeare of the Reign of our souvring Lord william the 
third by the Grace of God of England Scotland france & Irland 
King annoque dom 169t Grant bargone sell and convay unto 
John belvealle of the Countey of Richmond & provence of new 
yorke weaver his heirs Exekitors Admsi°^ And asignes A serten 
trakt or parcell of Land sittiate Lying and being on the west 
side of statones Island neare the fresh killes begining by the 
medow and strechig in to the wood by the Lyne of fransis 
oseltone dyrekt south three hundred Rood from thence west six 
degrees & northerly thirtey six Rood thence dyrekt north by 
the Lyne of Abraham Lacmone three hundred Rood thence 
East thirtey six Rood Containing In all sixtey arcres as by the 
Recited deed pole Relashone theareunto being had doth and 
may more fully and att Large Appeare Now Know yee that the 
said John belvealle of Statone Island And provence of New 
Yorke and hester his wife Testified by her being A partey to 
the Ensaling and delivery of tliease presents for the Reaell 
Loufe and Afeccone that they beare to the ministrey.of Gods 
word and the savashone of yeare soules do firmley by theas 
presents firmley freeley & absolewtly Give Grante Rattifie & 
Contirme un to the french Congereygashone or Church upon 
Statones Island within the Countey of Richmond wone Arcer of 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 93 

up land Itt being parte and parcel] of the afore Recited Trackt 
or parcell of Land Containing sixtey arcers sowld by the 
said Townes Ibbosone un to the said John belvealle which 
arcer of Land being Laid out on the south & by East 
side of the brige halfe an acer of the fore Recited Arcer 
Lying on the south side the highway and the other halfe of the 
fore Recited arcer of Land now Given by the said John belvealle 
and hester his wife Lying and being on the north side the high- 
way opesett against the other halfe arcer To have and to hold 
the fore Recited trackt and parcell of upland containing won 
arcer to the french Congreygashone now Residing with in the 
Countey of Richmond To Ereckt and bnild A Church upon the 
same for the ministrey of the Gospell and the maintaineuce of 
Gods holey word and ordinantsies and for noe other yovvse nor 
purpose unto The frensh Congreygashone their heirs Exiekitors 
Admin"'*- for Eaver and the said John belvealle and hester his 
wife doth covinante promise and Grante to & with the overseers 
of the frensh Congreygashone that they the said John belvealle 
and hester his wife their heirs Exekitors Admin""* and asignes 
shall and will for Eaver warend and defend the fore said frensh 
Congreygashone Their heirs and sucksesors for Eaver in the 
quiett and peacebell poseshone of the afore Recited wone arcer 
of Land aforesaid against the said John belvealle and hester his 
wife or from any other persone or persones what soe eaver Law 
fnlley Clayming aney Estate Right titell or interest of in or to 
the same. In testimoney of the same wee the said John Bel- 
vealle and hester his wife have heare unto sett their hands and 
fixed their seales this twelfth day of Aprell and in the tenth 
yeare of the Reighen of our Souvring Lord williame The third 
by the Grace of God of England Scotland france and Irland 
King defender of the faith Annoque dom: 1698. 
signed saled and delivered The marke of 

In the presents of John 1 B belvealle O 

Jacob Corbett The marke of 

D.Lucas hester x) H belvealle O." 

Jkyn la Tourrittk 
Joseph bastidoe 
Samuel Grasset " 

As a meeting house was spoken of in 1695 as already ex- 
isting, it must not be supposed that the acre above granted was 
the site of the first house of worship on the island. The site 



94 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

of the acre referred to is upon the estate of Henry J. Seaman, 
Esq., about one mile from the village of Richmond, and near 
the road to Eossville which runs along the north side of the 
field in which the interesting sj^ot is situated. It was described 
a few years since as being in the third field of the Seaman resi 
dence. The direction of the road was changed in 1831 so that 
it no longer serves to mai-k the position of the acre of upland 
referred to in Belville's deed. The bridge there mentioned was 
removed by Mr. Seaman in 1849, but another was placed by 
him on the same site, which was in the northwest corner of the 
same field,and from which the old road, after crossing the bridge, 
ran southeast diagonally partly across the field, and then re- 
turned joining the present road again near the northeast corner 
of the field. The church stood on the half-acre which lay on 
the south side of the highway. Some vestiges of its founda- 
tion remained till the beginning of the present century. It oc- 
cupied the northern slope of the rising ground to the south of 
the old road, and about two hundred feet in the same direction 
from the present road. The dimensions of the church were 
about 32 by 45 feet, and the building stood due north and south. 
A small stone dwelling house, probably built for a parsonage, 
stood to the east of it. South of the church was the repository 
of the dead. These graves were once marked by rough stones, 
bearing no inscriptions, but of which as many as two hundred 
could at one time be counted. The only inscriptions that have 
been read upon stones found in this ground are those of 
Tennis Van Pelt, died 1765, aged 65 years; Mary, his wife, died 
1762, aged 59 years; another from which the part bearing the 
name was broken off, but the date of which was 1784; and an- 
other bearing the initials J. L. and date 1784. 

This interesting spot commands a prospect of a soft and peace- 
ful character. From its gently swelling knoll the spires of 
Richmond are seen upon the right, and glimpses of the white 
edifices of the quiet village may be caught through the trees. 
Directly in front the meadow of Fresh kill spreads its level 
surface, backed by the woods and rising grounds of Carl's neck, 
while its meanderings may be traced, glistening in the sunbeams 
or indicated by the mast of some tiny craft, till the mountains 
of New Jersey bounded the scene. Such is the spot where 
those noble e.xiles, the Huguenots of Stateu Island, erected the 
first edifice for the free and untrammeled exercise of their wor- 



HISTORY OF RICiniOND COUNTY. 95 

ship. Should pilgrims be attracted to the sacred place by this 
notice of it — Staten Islanders pei'chance, who can ti-ace their 
families to this illustrious source— let them, as their footsteps 
press the hallowed soil, recall a Huguenot Sabbath of a century 
and three-quarters ago. Let imagination picture that humble 
house of God, rustic in its appearance but sublime in all its as- 
sociations. Mark those groups of devout and honest men, of 
high souled women, the dark-eyed sons and daughters of 
France! List to the foreign accents of the preacher's voice, 
and as it dies away and their solemn anthem swells upon the 
air, then give them their meed of praise! "We grudge not the 
Puritans their share of honor. Break relics, if you will from 
the rock of Plymouth, but let not the Huguenots of France, 
the Huguenots of Staten Island, be forgotten! By their own 
children, if by no others, should the great and good be remem- 
bered and revered. 

But we must leave these musings and return to the thread of 
our narrative. In March, 1683, Richmond was divided into 
four towns — Castletown, Northfield, Southfield and Westfield. 
The town of Middletown was not organized until 1860. Before 
the legal division of the count j' into towns, it was divided into 
three precincts, the North, South and West: Castleton was not 
included in any of the precincts, but was designated "The 
Manor." The limits of the precincts were about the same as 
those of the towns as established by law on the 7th of March, 
1688. Castleton derived its name from the Palmer or Dongan 
patent, in which the manor conveyed was called Cassiltown, 
corrupted into the present name, and the corruption legalized 
by repeated acts of the legislatiire; the other towns were named 
from their position in the county. 

Great political changes were now taking place in the province 
of New York. The attempt of James II to restore the Catholic 
church had made him odious to the British nation. In New 
York the citizens were mostly Protestants and bitterly opposed 
the Roman Catholic faith. Dongan had exhibited the greatest 
religious toleration, which judicious policy displeased his 
royal prince, and the wi,se and politic governor was recalled. 
Sir Edmund Andros having been appointed governor of all the 
provinces of New England received the seal of the province of 
New York from the retiring governor in July, 1688. Andros 



96 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

appointed a deputy governor over New York in the person of 
Francis Nicholson. 

James II did not long wear the crown. He was deposed dur- 
ing the same year, and deserting his own children, became a 
refugee in France. William, in compliance with the popular 
wish, was proclaimed king, and the great Protestant revolution 
was effected. A rumor spread in the province of New York 
that the friends of the deposed monarch intended to massacre 
the disaffected. A fierce popular excitement followed. The 
New Yorkers, while recognizing generally the sovereignty of 
William and Mary, prince and princess of Orange, a small party 
remained who insisted that the colonial government was not 
overthrown by the revolution. They contended that it still 
remained vested in the lieutenant-governor and his council. 
Nicholson was the deputy governor, and known to be an ad- 
herent of the Catholic church, with many of his friends; and 
this fact increased the distrust of the people. A UKjb i>araded 
the streets of New York. Five militia companies, the entire 
force, surrounded the house of Jacob Leisler, a merchant of the 
city and captain of the militia, and demanded that he should 
seize the fort at the Battery, which was done. Nicholson, de- 
prived of his authority, sailed for England. The distrust of 
the people, however, was not allayed. A rumor spread that 
an attack was plotted on the church in the fort, and that pos- 
session of the government was to be taken and the standard of 
King James set up. These rumors, however extravagant, ex- 
cited a general consternation. The people of Long Island sent 
a large body of militia to New York " to seize the fort and to 
keep away French invasion and slavery." 

The apprehensions of the peoj^le on Staten Island culminated 
in a panic. Fear reigned supreme for a while; they dared not 
remain at night in their own dwellings, but in the deepest re- 
cesses of the forest they constructed temporary shelters, to which 
they resorted after dark, that they might not be observed and 
their retreats discovered; they preferred to encounter the perils 
of the darkness and the forests rather than trust themselves to 
the tender mercies of their fellow men. Some took their families 
upon the water in boats, which they anchored a short distance 
from the shore, and thus passed the nights; and various other 
expedients were resorted to for concealment and security. Re- 
ports of various kinds were spread, which added fuel to the 



HISTORY OF UICHMOND COUNTY. 97 

tiameand kept it burning for some length of time; among these 
were, that a number of papists who had been driven out of 
Boston had been received into the fort at New York and had 
enlisted as soldiers; that the papists on the island had secretly 
collected arms, which they kept concealed and ready for use at 
a moment's notice; that Governor Dongan's brigantine had been 
armed and otherwise equipped for some desperate enterprise, 
and the refusal of the commander of the vessel to permit it to 
be searched was not calculated to allay the alarm. He admitted 
that the vessel had been armed, but not for the purpose alleged, 
but, as she was bound on a voyage to Madeira, she was in 
danger of being attacked by the Turks, and she had been 
armed for the defense of her crew and cargo. However plausible 
this reason might have been it was not generally credited. Th& 
excitement at length subsided, and not a Protestant throat had 
been cut. 

Tradition says that several pieces of cannon wei'e afterward 
found in the cellar of the governor's mill, which it was sup- 
posed had been concealed there, to be in readiness when they 
might be required. This mill stood on the south side of the 
recently constructed public road in West Brighton, called Post 
avenue, which is in fact part of an old road reopened, for, prior 
to the construction of the causeway which now connects West 
New Brighton and Port Richmond, the only communication 
between Castleton and Northfield, near the shore, was round 
the head of the cove or pond now known as the mill pond. 

It is not to be wondered at that the French Protestants here 
were most sensitive about their religious rights and safety. At 
this very time their brethren in France were suffering. The 
Indian wars had been renewed in Canada, and the French wanted 
to cut a path to the Atlantic ocean. This had been resolved 
upon — including the reduction of Albany and New York on the 
way. This, in the language of the French general would be " the 
only means of firmly establishing the religion throughout all 
North America." Louis issued his regal authority for the under- 
taking. All faithful Catholics were to remain unmolested, 
whilst the French refugees — particularly those of the pretended 
reformed religion — must be sent back to France. These cruel 
instructions were given, too, about four years after the memora- 
ble revocation of the "Edict of Nantes." What wonder then 
7 



98 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

that the Huguenots should be alarmed when such a direful fate 
seemed to menace them. 

Jacob Leisler, a prominent character of that day, exercising 
both civil and military authority, was intrusted by the magis- 
trates with the administration of affairs, after the dejiarture 
of Nicholson, and one of his first acts was to cause William 
and Mary to be proclaimed in the counties of Richmond, 
Westchester, Queens, Kings and Ulster, and the city and 
county of Albany, and East Jersey ; the order to Richmond 
was dated December 17th, 1689. On the 30th of the same 
month, he issued an order requiring all persons who held 
commissions, warrants, "or other instruments of power or com- 
mand, either civil or military," derived from either Dongan or 
Andros, forthwith to surrender the same to a justice of the 
peace of the county wherein they resided, except the counties 
of New York and Richmond, who were to surrender at the fort 
in New York. 

After the burning of Schenectady, and the massacre of its 
inhabitants by the French and Indians, in February, 1690, he 
issued anotlaer order to the military and civil officers of several 
counties, Richmond county being one of the number, that 
" fearing too great a correspondency hath been maintained 
between y*-' 8*1 ffrensch & disaffected P''sons among us," to secure 
all persons reputed papists, or who are inimical to the govern- 
ment, or who continue to hold any commissions from Dongan 
or Andros, and bring them before him. 

In 1689, Leisler commissioned the following civil and military 
officers in Richmond county : 

Ely Crossen, high sheriff. Jaques Pnillion, Captain. 

Jacob Corbett, clerk. Cornells Corsen, do 

Obadiah Holmes, justice. Thomas Morgan, Lieutenant. 

Jaques Poullion, do John Theunis Van Pelt, do 

Thomas Morgan, do Seger Geritsen, Ensign. 

Jacob Gerritse, do Cornells Nevius, do 

Cornelis Corsen, do 
The following persons from Staten Island were members of a 
company commanded by Captain Jacob Milborne, which was 
sent to Albany to establish Leisler's authority, the government 
of that city having refused to recognize it, viz.: "Jean Marlett, 
Francis Mauriss, Hendrick Hendricksen, Jean faefre, John Rob, 
John doulier and Peter Henkesson." 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 99 

There is no evidence that the people of Staten Island took 
any decided stand with regard to Leisler's administration. 
Generally, they submitted quietly to the authorities placed over 
them. Further than commissioning some officers and issuing 
some general orders, he does not appear in connection with the 
history of the island. It must be admitted that Leisler had 
many friends on the island, though they were not very 
demonstrative. His appointments to office were usually from 
among its best citizens, which operated in his favor; no decided 
steps were taken in his behalf during his imprisonment and trial, 
but after his condemnation petitions for his pardon were exten- 
sively signed, which had no other effect than to bring upon the 
signers the displeasure of the government, who regarded 
the act as disloyal. Farther than tiie imposition of lines, 
which appear to have been remitted, and the brief imprison- 
ment of a few individuals, no punishment was inflicted on 
the culprits. 

On the 19th of March, 1691, Henry Slaughter, having been 
ap[)ointed governor of the colony, arrived and demanded pos- 
session of the fort and the reins of government. Leisler at lirst 
refused to give up the post, but was compelled to do so, and was 
afterward tried, condemned and hastily executed for high 
treason. His execution took place May 16, 1691. 

On the 2Stli of April preceding, a letter was presented to 
the council in New York from the sheriff of Richmond county, 
"Giving an Account of severall Riotts and Tumults on Staten 
Island, and that they are subscribing of papers;" the sheriff 
was ordered to secure the ring-leaders that they might be prose- 
cuted. Thomas Stillwell, the sheriff, was not dilatory in obey- 
ing the order, and arrested several of the citizens of the countj^, 
among whom were John Theunison, John Peterson and Gerard 
Vechten, each of whom he compelled to pay three pounds ; 
others were obliged to execute bonds for the jDayment of that 
amount, and one refused to do either, and him he imprisoned. 
When information of the sheriff'' s proceedings reached New 
York, orders were sent down to have the bonds cancelled, 
whereupon the three individuals who had paid their money, de- 
manded that it should be refunded ; the sheriff, probably con- 
scious that he had exceeded his powers, promised that it should 
be done, but delayed so long, that the aggrieved parties ap- 
pealed to the council. At the same time, the same three indi- 



100 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

viduals presented a complaint against the assessors, who ex- 
empted themselves and some others from the payment of the 
tax for "negers," and that poor people who have no "negers" 
must pay "as much accordingly like Them that Has many 
negers. Therefore your petitioners humbly crave That your 
Ex"y will be pleased To signify Them iff s<3 negers should be Ex- 
cluded flfor paying Tax." What the result of these petitions 
was, we are not informed further than that they met with a 
favorable reception. 

The papers which were " subscribed " were petitions in favor 
of the two condemned men ; the peoj^le of Westchester also 
sent a petition for the same purpose, but the council did not 
recognize the right of petition in such cases ; therefore some 
were cited to appear before that body, while others were im- 
prisoned as promoters of "riots and disturbances." 

During Dongan's administration, Leisler, having imported a 
cargo of wine, had refused to pay the duties thereon to Matthew 
Plowman, the collector of the port, because he was a papist. 
He was, however, compelled to do so, and ever thereafter was 
a bitter enemy of Plowman. During his brief arbitrary admin- 
istration, to gratify his spite, he charged Plowman with being a 
defaulter to the government ; and learning that he was the 
owner of a quantity of beef and pork stored at Elizabethtown, 
he ordered Johannes Burger, a sergeant at the fort, to proceed 
to Staten Island, and compel such individuals as he might re- 
quire to go with him and assist in the removal of the provisions. 
Burger obeyed the order, and the property was brought to 
Leisler in New York, who sent it to Albany for the use of 
the soldiers he had sent to that place. After Leisler' s exe- 
cution. Plowman prosecuted all who were concerned in the 
removal of his property, to recover its value. Among the 
number were th^ following residents of Staten Islanri, viz., 
" John Jeronison, Thomas Morgan, Lawrence Johnson, John 
Peterson, Dereck Crews (Cruser), Chauck (Jaques) Pollion and 
John Bedine." These individuals, soon after the arrival of 
Major Richard Ingoldsby, as jiresident of the province ad- 
dressed an " humble Peticon," to him and the council, in 
which they admit having assisted in the removal of Plowman's 
l)roperty, but that they did so under compulsion, believing that 
they were doing a service to their Majesties; that they consid- 
ered it unjust to compel them to pay for the provisions when the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 101 

whole country had the benefit of them; they therefore pray 
that they may be relieved from the whole responsibility, or if 
that may not be done, that every person engaged in the removal 
be compelled " to pay their equall proporceons of the same." 
This petition was presented by Plowman himself, who thereby 
recognized the justice of their cause, but what the result of the 
application was does not appear. 

We must here suspend, for a little, the order of our narra- 
tive, to notice a matter which had its origin a few years before, 
and its final settlement nearly a century and a half after the 
time of which we are writing. We refer to the claims of New 
Jersey upon Staten Island. 

When it was known in England that New Netherland had 
been reduced, and was now actually in the possession of the 
English, Lord William Berkley and Sir George Carteret, two 
of the royal favorites, induced the Duke of York, probably in- 
fluenced by the king, to give them a patent for the territory 
west of the Hudson and the bay, and as far south as Cape May; 
this they named Nova Caesarea, or New Jersey. With thirty 
emigrants, English and French, Capt. Philip Cartaret, a cousin 
of Sir George, and governor of the new territory, sailed for 
New York, but by stress of weather was driven into the Chesa- 
peake. While lying there he forwarded despatches to Bollen, 
who was commissary at the fort in New York, and also to 
NicoUs. This was the first intimation the governor had received 
of the dismemberment of the extensive territory over which he 
ruled; he was both astounded and chagrined; he had already 
conveyed several parcels of land within the limits of the new 
grant, and regarded the whole as the best part of the duke's 
domain. He remonstrated, but his remonstrances came too late, 
the duke evidently thought he had been too precipitate, but as 
he could not well retrace his steps, he suffered matters to re- 
main as they were. Cartaret arrived in New York about mid- 
summer, 1665, and immediately took possession of his govern- 
ment. He chose Elizabeth town as his capital. It is said that 
when he first landed on the soil of New Jersey, he carried a hoe 
upon his shoulder, in token of his intention to devote his at- 
tention to the promotion of agriculture. 

After the Duke of York had conveyed the territory of New 
Jersey to Berkley and Cartaret, a doubt arose whether Staten 
Island was not included in the grant, by the terms of the char- 



102 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

ter. Cartaret, the governor, not the proprietor, laid no claim 
to the island; on the contrary, he tacitly admitted that it did 
not belong to his jurisdiction, by accepting a conveyance for a 
tract of land on the island from Nicolls, the Duke of York's 
agent; this he would scarcely have done, had he considered his 
brother the proprietor. In 1668 the island "was adjudged to 
belong to jS^ew York," becauseoneof theoutletsof the Hudson 
river ran around the island; while Berkley and Cartaret, by the 
terms of their patent, were bounded by the river and bay. The 
Dutch always appear to have regarded the inner bay or harbor 
as a mere expansion of the river, and the Narrows as its mouth. 
In their documents, Staten Island is frequently described as 
lying in the river. If this view was correct, the island evi- 
dently belonged to New Jersey, because it was embraced with- 
in its limits. The Duke of Yoi'k himself appears to have had 
his doubts about the matter, for it is said, that when the ques- 
tion of jurisdiction was first agitated, he decided that all islands 
lying in the river or harbor, which could be circumnavigated in 
twenty-four hours, should remain in his jurisdiction, otherwise 
to New Jersey. 

Christopher Billop, being then in the harbor in command 
of a small ship called the "Bentley," which it is also said he 
owned, undertook the task of sailing around the island, and 
accomplished it within twenty-four hours, thus securing it to 
the duke, who, in gratitude for the service rendered him, be- 
stowed upon Billop a tract of 1163 acres of land in the ex- 
treme southern part of the island, which was called the 
" Manor of Bentley," after the ship which had accomplished 
the task. 

In 1684 the question of the proprietorship of Staten Island 
was again agitated, and many of the landowners became appre- 
hensive of the validity of their title, and some of them, among 
whom was Billop, were desirous of selling, but as no pur- 
chasers could be found for a dubious title, the property re- 
mained in the family. Dongan was directed, if the Billop 
estate was sold, to find some purchaser for it in New York, and 
not to suffer it to pass into the possession of a resident of New 
Jersey. 

There is still preserved in the secretary of state's office at 
Albany the copy of a letter written by Governor Dongan, whose 
country residence was on Staten Island, to Sir John Werden, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 103 

Earl of Perth, and dated February 18, 1684-5. From this letter 
the following extracts will be of interest: 

" The Island had been in the possession of his R'll Highss 
above 20 years (except ye little time ye Dutch had it) purchased 
by Gov. Lovelace from ye Indyans in ye time of Sir George 
Carteret without any pretences ' till ye agents made claime to it ; 
it is peopled with above two hundred ffamllyes. ***** 

" The Quakers are making continued pretences to Staten Is- 
land, which disturbs the people, and one reason given for hold- 
ing it is that if his Royal Highness cannot retrieve East Jersey 
it will do well to secure Hudson's River and take away all claim 
to Staten Island." 

The proprietors of ]S"ew Jersey had complained to Dongan 
against his encroachments. Dongan himself does not seem to 
have been perfectly satisfied with his title, for when he obtained 
his own patent from the Duke of York for a large tract upon 
the island he strengthened it by securing another patent from 
the East India proprietors, who had been the x^revious owners. 
This took place about the time when the province of New York 
was divided into counties. 

New York claimed jurisdiction, and exercised it over the waters 
as far as low water mark on the Jersey shores, when the latter 
province opposed this exercise of public authority. New Jersey 
argued that the original grant gave that province jurisdiction to 
the middle of the Narrows, and therefore she owned Staten Is- 
land. New York, on the contrary, pleaded long possession, and 
the controversy produced great excitement between the two par- 
ties. The agitation of the question continued at intervals all 
through the colonial period, sometimes being revived with great 
bitterness, and extended for half a century into the state period. 

In 1807 commissioners were appointed from both states to 
settle the dispute, New Jersey insisting that Staten Island was 
within her border. Nothing, however, was accomplished by 
this interview, and it terminated in angry discussion and bad 
feelings. For several years a border excitement was kept up, 
until the deputy sheriff of Richmond county, while serving a 
process on board of a vessel near the Jersey shore, was arrested 
and imprisoned for violating her territory, the state authorities, 
however, avowing that this was done only to test the question 
of jurisdiction. 

In 1827 new commissioners were selected to settle the dispute, 



104 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

but they separated as before, without accomplishing anything. 
At length, in 1833, the dispute between the two states was 
amicably arranged by concession. New York obtained the ac- 
knowledged right to Staten Island, with the exclusive jurisdic- 
tion over a portion of the adjacent waters, by conceding to New 
Jersey a like privilege to other portions. New York thus se- 
cured this legal claim to most of the Lower bay, quite down to 
Sandy Hook ; and in return New Jersey obtained the same 
Eights over the waters on the west side of the island, as far as 
Woodbridge creek, in the neighborhood of Rossville. Thus 
was settled in an amicable manner a subject which once threat- 
ened a serious disturbance of the harmony between the two 
sister states. 

Under the Dutch and early English governors a number of 
land grants were issued. But very few of those issued 
under the former dynasty held under the latter. The import 
ant ones of that class have already been noticed. Occupants 
of lands under Dutch patents were doubtless required to take 
out new patents or confirmatory grants under the English rule. 
All these patents were granted to individuals, and the most of 
them were for comparatively small parcels of land. These we 
cannot notice in detail. There are two, however, which, partly 
because of their magnitude and partly because of the' historic 
persons and associations connected with them stand sufficiently 
prominent to warrant a somewhat extended notice. These are 
the Dongan patent and the Billop patent. The time of their issue 
was about the period of which we are writing, but in giving an 
account of them we shall be compelled to anticipate other 
periods and disregard the orderly progression of our general 
history. 

To the first of these two patents then let us turn our atten- 
tion. Though not the first to receive a royal patent yet the first 
to be occupied by the proprietor for whom it was named was 
the Billop patent. Definite statements are wanting to fix the 
time when Cliristo2:)her Billop first received actual possession of 
the tract which for a long time bore his family name. At the time 
when the Duke of York seemed to be wavering in opinion as to 
whether Staten Island belonged to the jurisdiction of New York 
or New Jersey, and finally decided the matter for himself by 
declaring that all islands lying in the river or harbor which 
could be circumnavigated in twenty-four hours should remain 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 105 

in the former, and others should be counted in the latter juris- 
diction. Christopher Billop, as has before been stated, accom- 
plished the task of sailing around the island within twenty-four 
hours, thus securing it to the duke, who bestowed upon Billop 
a tract of 1163 acres of land in the extreme southern part of 
the island. Here Billop built his manor house, which has with- 
stood the storms of more than two centuries, and is said to be in 
good condition at the present day. Another account says that 
Billop received the plantation as a douceur from the Duke of 
York for his gallantry in some naval office. 

In 1674 the Duke of York, by permission of the king, organ- 
ized a company of infantry of one hundred men; of this com- 
pany Christopher Billop was commissioned second lieutenant. 
He had sei"ved his king before his arrival in xlmerica, but in 
what capacity is not known; his father, however, was not. well 
spoken of. In 1677 Billop, while residing on his plantation 
on Staten Island, was appointed by Governor Andros, who had 
succeeded Lovelace, commander and sub-collector of New York, 
on Delaware bay and river. While occupied with the duties of 
these offices, he "misconducted" himself by making "extrava- 
gant speeches in public;" but of the subject of these speeches 
we are not informed; they were probably of a political character, 
and must have been peculiarly offensive, for Andros recalled 
him the next year, and dej^rived him of his military commission. 
This action of the governor was approved by the duke, who 
directed that another should be appointed to fill the vacant 
lieutenancy. 

Billop now retired to his plantation on Staten Island, there to 
brood over the ingratitude of princes, or perhaps over his own 
follies and indiscretions. We hear nothing more of him for 
two years, when he again appears as one of a number who pi'e- 
ferred complaints or charges against Andros, to tl^e duke, some 
of which must have been of a serious nature, as the duke 
thought it necessary to send an agent over to investigate the 
matter, and on receiving his report, Andros was summoned to 
to appear in person in England to render his accounts. This 
was probably in 1680 or 1681, when Brockholst succeeded An- 
dros; in 1682 Dongan succeeded Brockholst. Here we lose all 
farther historical trace of Christopher Billop; tradition says 
tliat in the latter part of the seventeenth, or the beginning of 
the eighteenth century, he sailed for England in his ship, the 



106 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

"Bentlej'," and was never heard of after: he left no male issue, 
but he had at least one daughter. While he remained on 
the island, however, he obtained a patent for his plantation 
from Governor Dongan, which bore date on or about June 6, 
1687. 

There was also a Joseph Billop residing on the island about 
this time. He was a justice of the peace in 1702-3 and a judge 
of the county in 1711. In 1704, April 25th, he received a con- 
veyance of a parcel of land from the " Right Honble. Thomas, 
Earle of Lymrick," the land in question being described by 
boundaries " beginning at a Blacke Oake by the burying place 
Agst. Abrah: Lackman's House." There was also a Middleton 
Billop living in the city of New York, who died in October, 
1724. Whether these men were near relatives of Christopher 
or not we have not discovered. 

The principal part of the original tract passed through the 
hands of successive generations of his descendants till the close 
of the revolution. In 1704 he sold a small parcel to John, Peter 
and James Le Counte, sons of Peter Le Counte "late of said 
island." 

Captain Christopher Billop married a Miss Farmer, by whom 
he had one daughter, Eugenia, born in or about the year 1712. 
Mrs. Billop was probably a sister of Thomas Farmer, who was 
pi'ominent on Staten Island, where he was a judge of the court 
of sessions in 1711. He removed hence, however, during or 
soon after that year, and afterward became a judge of the su- 
preme court of New Jersey and representative of Middlesex 
county in the assembly of that state. The oldest son of this 
Thomas Parmer, his name likewise being Thomas, married his 
cousin, the daughter of Christopher Billop, and succeeded to 
the inheritance of the manor of Bentley. In order to satisfy 
the ambition of the family to perpetuate its name young 
Farmer adopted the name of Billop. 

Thomas Farmer Billop and his wife occupied the mansion and 
estate during the latter years of the first half of the 18th cen- 
tury. From them it fell to the possesion of their son Christo- 
pher, while they were "gathered to their fathers." The old 
family cemetery in which their remains were deposited was 
situated some three hundred yards to the east of the old manor 
house, in a cultivated field and beneath the shade of a few large 
trees which once stood there. It contained but a few graves, 



HISTORY OF PaCHJIOND COUNTY. 107 

and only the graves of the two persons last mentioned were 
honored by headstones containing inscriptions. These inscrip- 
tions were as follows: 

"Here Lyes ye Body of Evjenea ye Wife of Thomas Billopp. 
Aged 23 years Dec^ March ye 22(1 1735." 

" Here Lyes ye Body of Thomas Billopp Esqr Son of Thomas 
Farmar Esqf Deed August ye 2J 1750 In ye 39th year of his 
Age." 

These stones are now lying in the barn yard near the Billop 
house and ai'e more or less broken to pieces. For more than a 
century they marked the graves to which they belonged. The 
spot is now marked by a single cedar tree. Several years since 
the crumbling bones were removed thence, by order of the pro- 
prietor of the ground, and the stones of the graves thus dese- 
crated, which themselves, it would seem, possessed value as 
historic relics sufficient to warrant their careful preservation, 
were broken and ruthlessly consigned to the rubbish pile as we 
have seen. 

Christopher Billop, the only son of the above of whom we 
have any knowledge, though he had a sister Sally (who married 
Alexander Ross of New Jersey, in 1775), was born about the 
year 1735, and rose to a position of great prominence in the 
county. We are informed that he was twice married, but who 
his first wife was we have been unable to learn. His second 
wife was Jane Seaman, daughter of Judge Benjamin Seaman, 
of this county. Besides being a gentleman of character and 
property, lie was a member of assembly, and on the eve of the 
revolution commanded a corps of loyal militia which was 
raised in the vicinity of New York city, and was during the 
revolutionary period actively engaged in military duty. At 
the outbreak of the war he was a steadfast opponent of the 
measures that led to a rupture with Great Britain. By the in- 
tensity of his loyalty to the British crown he made himself 
conspicuously obnoxious to the whigs of Stalen Island and New 
Jersey. He held the commission of a colonel in the British 
army, and at one time, in 1782, had the title of superintendent of 
police of the island. Communication between the island and 
New Jersey had been prohibited by the British authorities, and 
he was very active in enforcing the prohibition. The patriots 
of New Jersey were exceedingly bitter in their hostility to him, 
and on two different occasions made him prisoner. Amboy is 



108 HISTORV OF EICHMOND COUNTV. 

in sight, and upon one of these occasions he was observed by 
some Americans, who had stationed themselves with a spy 
glass in the church steeple of that town. As soon as they saw 
him enter his abode, they ran to their boats, rapidly crossed the 
river, and he was soon their captive. The British, then in pos- 
session of New York, had confined in irons several Americans 
who had been made prisoners ; and to retaliate for this measure 
Colonel Billop was taken to Burlington jail. We have copied 
the mittimus, as a matter of curiosity, and as showing the 
method of doing such things at that eventful period. 

"To thekeei^erof the common jail for the county of Burling- 
ton greeting :— You are hereby commanded to receive into your 
custody the body of Col. Christopher Billopp, prisoner-of-war, 
herewith delivered to you, and having put irons on his hands 
and feet, you are to chain him down to the floor in a close room, 
in said jail, and there to retain him, giving him bread and water 
only for his food, until you receive further orders from me, or 
the commissary of prisoners for the state of New Jersey, for 
the time being. Given under my hand, at Elizabethtown, this 
6th day of Nov. 1779. 

Elisha Boudinot, 
Covi. Pris. New Jersey.'" 

The commissary at the same time regretted to Billop that 
necessity made such treatment necessarj^ "but retaliation is 
directed, and it will I most sincerely hope, be in your power to 
relieve yourself from the situation by writing to New York to 
procure the relaxation of the sufferings of John Leshier, and 
Capt'n Nathaniel Randal." 

He was finally released by order of Washington. During 
the period of the war Billop disposed of some parts of his 
estate. On the 10th of May, 1780, he sold to Joseph Totten a 
tract of twenty acres, and another of three and a half acres in 
the manor of Bentley, for £235 currency, and on the 29th of the 
same month he sold to Benjamin Drake a tract of sixty acres 
from his estate, for £600 currency. On the first of May, 1781, 
he and his wife Jane, conveyed to Samuel Ward, of Richmond 
county, for £3,730 current money of the city of New York, the 
tract opposite Amboy, known as the manor of Bentley, "Con- 
taining three hundred and Seventy-three Acres of Land and 
salt meadow, be the same in Quantity more or Less, being 
Bounded Easterly by Land of said Albert Rickman Northerly 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 109 

by the river or sound at Low water mark and westerly and 
southerly by the Bay at Low Water mai-k." In this convey- 
ance houses, barns, ferry-house and dock, out-houses and 
stables are specified by name. Prom the tract is reserved for 
the heirs of Billop sixty feet square for a burial place, the head- 
stone of his father being the center of such reservation. 

During the revolution the home of Colonel Billop was fre- 
quented by men of distinction and rank in the British army. 
After the war Billop with fifty-four other royalists in 1783 peti- 
tioned Sir Guy Carleton for extensive grants of land in Nova 
Scotia. Colonel Billop soon after went to New Brunswick, 
where for many years he bore a prominent part in the adminis- 
tration of the afi'airs of that province. He was a member of 
the house of assembly, and of the council, and on the death of 
Governor Smythe in 1823 he claimed the presidency of the 
government, and issued his proclamation accordingly, but the 
Honorable Ward Chipman was a competitor for the same sta- 
tion, and was sworn into office. 

Colonel Billop died at St. John, N. B , in 1827, being then 
over 90 years of age. His wife, Jane, who was about twenty 
years younger than himself, died in that city in 1802, aged 48. 
He had a son, born on Staten Island in 1769, named John 
Willett, and another son by the name of Thomas. They settled 
in the city of New York, and had a dry goods store on Broad- 
way in the vicinity of Trinity church. John never married, 
but fell a victim of yellow fever at the time the city was 
scourged by that terrible disease. Thomas, who had a family, 
of whom, however, nothing is known, except that his wife was 
a Miss Moore of Newtown, L. I., survived the fever, failed in 
business, joined the expedition of the celebrated Miranda, in 
which he received the appointment as captain, and was taken 
prisoner by the Spaniards and afterward executed. Besides 
these two sons Colonel Billop had four daughters. Louisa 
married John Wallace, Esq., surveyor of the customs. Mary 
married the Rev. Archdeacon Willis, of Nova Scotia, and died 
at Halifax in 1834, at the age of forty- three. Jane became the 
wife of the Hon. William Black of St. John, and died in 1836. 
Ann, the youngest daughter, was a maiden lady, and was the 
last of the family of whom any record appears of their visiting 
the ancestral homestead. She visited the spot in 1824, and took 
some flowers of an old trumpet creeper vine that was growing 



110 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

on the house, and some nuts and wild cherries from trees that 
were growing in the burial plot, and on her return carried them 
to her father in New Brunswick. It is said that on beholding 
them the heart of the old colonel melted with emotion and he 
wept like a child. 

We have neglected to say in a more appropriate place that 
Colonel Billop had two daughters by his first wife, of whom 
we only know that they married sons of Benjamin Seaman, one 
of whom was Benjamin and the other Henry. 

The large estate once belonging to Colonel Billop was conhs- 
cated and sold by Isaac Stoutenburgh and Philip Van Cort- 
land, commissioners of forfeitures for the southern district of 
New York. The sale made July 10th, 1784, was recorded in the 
following memorandum : 

"Sold to Thomas Mc Farren of the City of New York, Mer- 
chant, for the sum of four thousand six hundred and ninety- 
five pounds Lawfull Money of the said state— All that certain 
Tract or parcel of Land situate Lying and being in the County 
of Richmond and Manor of Bently, Bounded Southerly by the 
Bay or water called Princes Bay, westerly by the river that runs 
between the said Land and Amboy Northerly partly by the Land 
of Jacob Reckhow and partly by the road and Easterly partly by 
the road and partly by the Bay, Containing Eight hundred and 
fifty acres and half an acre and which said Tract is divided into 
the several following Farms and Lots of Land — three hundred 
and seventy three acres thereof in the possession of Samuel 
Ward — Two hundred Acres in the possession of Albert Rj^ck- 
man, l^'ifty acres in the possession of John Manner — Fifty acres 
in the possession of Edmund Wood — Fifty acres in the posses- 
sion of Andrew Prior — Twenty live Acres in the possession of 
James Churchward, sixtyseven acres and an half acre in the 
possession of Benjamin Drake— Twenty three acres and an half 
acre in the possession of Joseph Totten — Eleven acres and an 
half acre in the possession of Jacob Reckhow — Together with 
all the Buildings and Improvements thereon Erected and made 
Forfeited to and Vested in the People of this state by the At- 
tainder of Christopher Billop Late of the County of Richmond 
Esquire." 

The historic house is still standing. It occupies a beautiful 
site overlooking the river or Staten Island sound, with Amboy 



HI8T0RY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



Ill 



in view on the opposite shore and the Jersey landscapes fading 
in the distance. 

The old mansion was built of stone — its walls three feet thick — 
and bears the marks of former affluence and elegance. Like 
most buildings of the " olden time," it has its ghost and other 
romantic stories. "There," said the person who now occupies 
the house, as we entered one of 
the upper story front rooms, "'that 
spot on the floor we have never 
been able to wash out. It is sup- 
posed to be blood, and a murder 
is said to have been perpetrated 
here. This, too, is the ghost room, 




THE OLD BILLOF HOUSE, TOTTENVILLE. 

but I have never been disturbed by 
such visitors, and believe neither of 
these stories." A person had visited 
an adjoining apartment last winter, 
searching for hidden treasure. He had 
been told by some mesmerist or for- 
tune- teller of New York that money was to be found concealed 
in one of the walls of this room, and absolutely picked with 
hammer and chisel a large opening,but finally gave over the 
search as hopeless. This strange credulity was here exhibited 
in the winter of 1844. 

In the cellar of the building there is a brick vault thirty feet 



112 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

long and about thirteen wide, finely arched, and may have 
be<3n used as a place of retreat, or the receptacle for valuable 
articles in cases of emergency. 

The interior of the house presents nothing remarkable in ap- 
pearance. The hall and staircase are extremely plain. In fact 
there is no decoration to be seen anywhere. The rooms have 
been undersized in a manner approaching meanness. 

As Billop was a well known '' tory," and a military char- 
acter also, his house must have witnessed many an interview of 
such men as Lord Howe, General Kniphausen, Colonel Simcoe 
and other officers of rank in the British service who had com- 
mand at various periods on the island. Immediately after the 
severe battle on Long Island, Lord Howe sent a communica- 
tion to congress, then assembled in Philadelphia, soliciting that 
a committee from that body might meet him, to confer on the 
difficulties between the two nations. For this purpose, Ben- 
jamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge were ap- 
pointed. The interview took place in this house, and these 
nuble, patriotic, American spirits declined every proposition 
for peace that would not acknowledge the independence of 
their beloved country. 

This conference took place in the room at the northwest corner 
of the house on the main floor. This momentous interview was 
regarded with extreme solicitude by the people of both the old 
world and the new. With the developments of time it rises into 
the grandeur of a great battle point and monument of history. 
The interview was brief. There was no agreement, no reconcili- 
ation. Independence was maintained. The result was limned 
by the hand of God, and is seen in the progess of a continent 
and the achievements of a century all over the world. 

There is a beautiful lawn before the house, extending quite 
down to the water's edge. The views from the mansion are ex- 
tensive, and rich in natural beauties. Directly in front the 
eye rests on Amboy bay, the town iiself beyond, and the Ra- 
ritan river, which here expanding into the general body of 
waters the whole soon flows onward to the mighty Atlantic. 
Toward the south, at a more remote distance, are seen the 
mountains of Monmouth and the bold summits of Nave Sink, 
upon whose lofty highlands, the beacon-fires of 1776 blazed to 
alarm the country upon the expected approach of the enemy. 

What a blessing is peace ! How changed the scene ! Upon 



HISTORY OF ItlCIIMOND COUNTY. 113 

these very heights now glisten nightly the cheering rays of the 
light-house, welcoming the traveller of every nation to our land 
of freedom and happiness ! Where once was heard the deafen- 
ing drum and clarion of war, here now the anvil rings, the 
merry wheel dances, and the carol of the peaceful plow-boy re- 
sounds, while he traces the enriching and silent furrow ! 

We shall now turn our attention to the Dongan patent and 
the persons connected with it. This brought into direct and 
intimate association with the island one of the most prominent 
of the colonial governors, and one whose acts have been more 
conspicuously brought before a wide range of interests, people 
and times than perhaps any other. 

At the time of Dongau's arrival, there dwelt in the city of 
New York a gentleman named John Palmer, by profession a 
lawyer, who, at the time of the separation of Stateu Island from 
the Long Island towns, was appointed "ranger" for Staten 
Island. He had formerly lived on the island of Barbadoes, 
and had emigrated thence to New York. In 1683 he lived on 
Staten Island, and was appointed by Dongan one of the two 
first judges of the New York court of oyer and terminer. He 
was also a member of the council, and generally an active and 
prominent man in the affairs of the xu'ovince. To this man Don- 
gan executed a patent, known in the island history as the 
Palmer or Dongan .patent. The small brook which forms a 
part of the boundary between the towns of Caslleton and 
Northtield, and which runs to the mill pond, is still known by 
the name of " Palmer's Run," because it also formed a part of 
the boundary of the land convej^ed by the patent. 

An attempt seems to have been previously made by Dongan 
to gain possession of this large property, but for reasons which 
will appear the transaction was repeated in the manner above 
stated. The first transaction of which we find any record is 
dated January 14, 1684-5, when Governor Dongan purchased of 
John Palmer of Staten Island and Sarah his wife, for the sum 
of twelve hundred pounds, "All that their Capitall Messuage 
or dwelling house with the Appurtenances situate lyeing and 
being on the north side of Staten Island Aforesaid within Con- 
stables hooke neere the Mill Creeke late in the Occupacion and 
possession of the said John Palmer, And All that Certaine Par- 
cell or tract of Land thereunto belonging being upon the north 
side of Staten Island aforesaid within Constables Hooke lyeing 

8 



114 IIISTOET OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

between the two niniies att the mill creeke beginning with A 
narrow point And Running up wider into the Island Containing 
the quantity of three hundred forty and two Acres with meadow 
Ground to belaid out proportionably." The conveyance also 
includes other parcels, the title to which had been obtained as 
recited in their specifications in substance as follows : ISinety- 
six acres to the east of Mill creek, with the mill, which was 
granted to Palmer by Governor Andros in 1677, upon which had 
also been built by Palmer two windmills and a sawmill ; eighty 
acres which had been conveyed to Palmer by Francis Barber 
who had a grant from Sir Edmund Andros ; ninety' acres, with 
eighf acres of meadoAv, which had been granted by Andros in 
1680 to Jacob Cornells, and by him conveyed to Palmer; another 
like tract of ninety acres with eight acres of meadow, 
granted to James Gyles, by Andros, and by Gyles conveyed to 
Palmer; and a tract of four thousand five hundred acres of land 
lying in a body in the middle part of the island, with an island 
of meadow near Fresh kill, "All which Said Last mentioned 
tract or parcell of Land And Island of meadow were Granted 
unto the Said John Palmer," by Governor Dongan by patent 
dated May 2, 1684. Thus it will be seen the premises purchased 
by Dongan had been obtained in small parcels, through differ- 
ent channels and under grants of different dates. It was desir- 
able that they should be consolidated, and treated as a unit, 
and that some manorial privileges should be associated with 
their proprietorship. 

The early provincial governors having shown some disposi- 
tion to appropriate too much land to themselves, they had been 
restricted by an order in council, to evade which the plan was 
devised of granting a patent to Palmer for this land, and then 
having a transfer made from Palmer to Dongan. The patent to 
Palmer was approved at a council held March 31, 1687, at which 
were present Governor Dongan, Anthony Brockholst, Frederick 
Phillips, Stephanus Van Cortlandt and Nicholas Bayard. The 
instrument bears date as above, and begins as follows : — 

" \Yhereas John Palmer of the City of New York Esqr. as 
well by virtue of Several deeds and Pattents to him or them 
under whome he claymes made by the former Governors of this 
Province as by virtue of a certain Pattent or Confirmation under 
my hand, and seale of the province, bearing date the second 
day of May, 1684: stands Lawfully and Rightfully Seized of & 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 115 

in all that Tract or parcell of Land Beginning at a cove on Kill 
Van Cull, on the east bounds of the lands of Garret Cruise 
[Cruser] and so running in the woods by the said Kill to a 
marked tree, and thence by a line of marked trees according to 
the natural position of the poles, south and by east two degrees 
and thirty minutes southerly according to the compass south, 
there being eight degrees and forty live minutes variation ffrom 
the north westward, and from thence by the reai-e of the land of 
Garret Cruise & Peter Johnson, east & by north two degrees 
and thirty minutes to the line of Peter Johnson's wood lott, & 
by his line south and by east two degrees and thirty minutes 
south sixty-one chains, and thence by thereareof the aforesaid 
lott & the lott of John Vincent northeast & by east one degree 
northerly to the southeast corner of the hind of John Vincent 
thirty three chains & a halfe, from thence by his east line south 
& by west two degrees thirty minutes northerly to a white oak 
tree marked with three notches, bearing northwest from the 
ffresh pond, from thence to a young chestnutt tree the south- 
west corner of the land of Piiillip Wells & so by a line of 
marked trees east nine degrees & fifteen minutes southerly by 
south side of a small ffresh meadow to the north & to the north 
of the ffresh pond including the pond to the land of Mr. An- 
drew Norwood & so by his land as it runs to the reare of the 
land of Mary Brittaine & so by the reare of the Old Town lotts 
to the land of Isaac Bellevv & Thomas Stilwell & from thence 
upon the Iron Hills, to the land of William Stilwell & by his 
land to the land of George Cummins & ffroni his northeast cor- 
ner, to the southeast corner of the land of Mr. James Hubbard 
at the head of the ffresh kills & so round by his land to the 
reare lotts at Karles neck & so by the lotts to the highway left 
by Jacob puUion & the great swamp to the land of John ffitz 
Garrett including the great swamp, thence by the soldiers lotts 
and the reare lotts of Cornells Corsen & company to the south- 
west corner of theire ffront lotts & so by the runne which is 
theire bounds to the mill pond including the mill pond to the 
sound or Kill Van Cull & so by the sound to the cove where 
ffirst begun. Containing with all the hills, valleys, ft'resh 
meadows & swamps within the above specified bounds live tliou- 

sand one hundred acres be the same more or less. Also a 

great island of salt meadow lying near the ffresh kills & over 
against long neck not yet appropriated — and all the messuages, 



116 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

tenements, fencings, orchards, gardens, pastures, meadows, 
marshes, woods, underwoods, trees, timber, quarries, rivers, 
brooks, ponds, lakes, streams, creeks, harbors, beaches, fBshing, 
hawking and ifowling, mines, minerals (silver and gold mines 
only excepted) mills, mill dams," etc. 

By the patent it was also constituted one lordship or manor 
" to be called the Lordship and manor of Cassiltuvvne." It was 
subject to an annual quit-rent of one lamb and eight bushels of 
winter wheat, to be paid if demanded on the 25111 of March in 
each year. 

On the 29th of September, 1677, Governor Andros executed a 
patent to GaiTet Croosen (Cruser) for one hundred and sixty 
acres of land on the north side of Staten Island, which is 
bounded on the west by "a small runn of water." It is diffi- 
cult, if not impossible, at this day to trace the boundaries of 
some of the old patents, but we assume that the "runn of 
waler " mentioned in the patent is the stream issuing out of the 
''boiling spring" on the Bement estate, as that spring was 
formerly called the "Cruser spring," and in conveyances of 
even recent date the "runn" is called the "Cruser Spring 
brook." The land conveyed was one hundred and seventeen 
rods in breadth, which would reach nearly or quite to the Pel- 
ton estate. This estate once belonged to one of the Cruser fam- 
ily, but probably it was by a subsequent purchase The Palmer 
patent begins at a cove on " Kill Van Call," on the east bounds 
of the lands of Garret Cruser ; j^robably the word east is a cler- 
ical error, and should have been west, but even on that sup- 
position the boundaries described in the latter patent would 
embrace Lovelace's property. If we assume " the cove" to be 
that next west of and adjoining the Pelton estate, the bound- 
aries would embrace the properties both of Lovelace and Cruser. 
The natural outlet of the Cruser spring brook was at or near 
the place where the surplus water from the works of the New 
York Dyeing and Printing Establishment now enters the kills. 
The pond of this establishment is an artificial structure, made 
nearly a century ago for the use of a mill which stood on the 
" Factory Dock." The main stream which supplies this pond 
is also an artificial canal ; the natural outlet of the water which 
now supplies the pond was through Bodine's pond into the 
kills. In Governor Dongan's days, these waters supplied a 
pond in the rear of the reservoir of the gas company on the 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 117 

south side of Post avenue, for the use of his mill, which we 
have elsewhere alluded to as the mill in which guns were said 
to have been concealed at the time of the papist panic. 

On the 16th day of April, 1687, John Palmer and Sarah, his 
wife, conveyed the territory described above to Thomas Dongan, 
" for a competent summe of lawfull money," after an owner- 
ship of about a fortnight. 

It is now quite impossible to trace the lines described in the 
patent, as the most of the land-marks mentioned therein have 
disappeared. If by the terms "great swamp" is meant that 
extending from Graniteville to New Springville, and which is 
so designated in a variety of other ancient documents ; and if 
by " ffresh kills" is meant the waters now known by that 
name, and which are also frequently alluded to by that name 
in similar documents, it is evident that the territory conveyed 
embraced not only the greater part of the present towns of 
Castleton and Middletown, but a large proportion of North- 
field also. 

Dunlap says that Governor Dongan, having doubts about 
Staten Island belonging to New York, and in order to be 
doubly sure, procured a patent in 1687 for the same land from 
the proprietors of East Jersey. 

In the following year, 1688, Governor Dongan erected his 
manor house, which remained until the present decade, and 
though externally modernized in some degree the oak frame, 
hewn out of the adjacent forest, was the identical one erected 
by him, the date of its erection having been marked upon one 
of the timbers with white paint. The house alluded to stood 
in the middle of the square bounded by the shore road on the 
north, Cedar street on the south, Dongan street on the east, and 
Bodine street on the west, at West New Brighton. There is 
now a gradual descent of the surface of the land from the site 
to the shore road ; but, originally, the earth was as high on the 
southerly side of the road as it now is at the place where the 
house stood, forming a sand hill between the house and the 
road, and which entirely concealed the house from view when 
standing in the road in front of it. When this sand bank was 
removed, several skeletons, evidently of Indians, besides nu- 
merous other Indian relics, were unearthed, indicating this 
spot as having been one of their burial places. This time- 
honored relic was at last destroyed by fire. A large barn, 



118 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

standineon the mill road which was also built during the early 
years of the proprietorship of Governor Dongan, was burned 
on the 18th of July, 1862. Through this extensive domain a 
road was opened at an early period toward the village of Rich- 
mond, and this early road still bears the name of Manor road. 
A tide mill stood until a recent date on the causeway across 
Palmer's run. The old Dongan mill stood farther south, on 
an old road which ran around the head of the pond, the course 
of which in part has been followed by the construction of Post 
avenue in West New Brighton. After the construction of the 
causeway the old road, which before had been the only way of 
passing between the localities of West New Brighton and 
Port Richmond, ceased to be used until the opening of 
Post avenue. The pond which is alluded to in the Palmer 
patent received the tide, and boats at high water could reach 
the door of the old mill. This mill was largely patronized by 
the people of Bergen Point and its vicinity, as well as by the 
j)eop]e of the island. 

When the present avenue was constructed, the foundation 
stones, and some of the decayed oak timbers of the old mill, 
were unearthed, but no cannon. In the latter part of the last 
century, a flouring mill was bnilt on the present steamboat wharf 
at West New Brighton, and the most of the water which had 
propelled the old mill, was diverted from its natural course by 
a canal which led it into the large pond at the foot of the pres- 
ent Water street, which i^ond was then constructed to hold the 
water in reserve for the use of the new mill ; this was built by 
a McVickar, though it subsequently passed into the hands of 
the Van Buskirk family, and was better known as Van Bus- 
kirk's mill. This mill was burned a few years ago, and the 
wharf, the pond and the canal for more than half a century 
have belonged to the New York Dyeing & Printing Establish- 
ment. After the construction of the causeway, and the divert- 
ing of the water, tlie pond has gradually tilled up, until now it 
can scarcely be utilized for the purpose to which it was once 
devoted. 

In a review of the life and acts of one so intimately asso- 
ciated with the island as Col. Thomas Dongan was it is proper 
to give some notice to his antecedents and the stock whence he 
came. We find Governor Dongan associated with the nobility 
of England and Ireland. In a list of the baronets of Ireland, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 119 

with a list of their creations, we find the name of AValter Don- 
gan, of Castletown, in the county of Kildare, to which is at- 
tached the date 1623. Castletown park is in the northeast corner 
of the county of Kildare, about ten miles southwest of the city 
of Dublin. Sir Walter Dongan, who was made baronet October 
23, 1C23, belonged to a family who were jironounced " valiant, 
active and faithful." They were in 1646 and later on connected 
with the army, and in recognition of their faithfulness and de- 
votion to their king, William, a brother was promoted to the 
dignity of viscount of Claine, county of Kildare, in 1661. In 
1685 he was made earl of Limerick. At the battle of theBoyne 
he lost an only son, who was killed by a cannon ball. The son 
was buried at Castletown, the seat of his father. Lord Dongan, 
earl of Limerick. The estate of Lord Dongan was forfeited, he 
being attainted April 16, 1691, but was restored again by act of 
parliament, December 15, 1699. In " Burke's Encyclopedia of 
Heraldry" a^jpears the following description of the Dongan 
coat of arms : 

" Quarterly first and fourth, gu. three lions pass, or, holding 
in the dexter paw a close helmet argent garnished or the 
second ; second and third azure six plates on a chief or a demi 
lion rampant gules. Crest — A lion passant or, supporting with 
the dexter foot a close helmet argent garnished of the first." 

To this noble family Col. Thomas Dongan belonged, though 
what his relationship was to the Earl of Limerick we have not 
the means of determining. Some claim that he was a brother 
Colonel Dongan having a commission as governor, arrived in 
New York August 27, 1683. His commission was dated Sep- 
tember 30, 1682. To him the present state is indebted for many 
of its existing records and laws. He was a firm believer in the 
religious and political faith of James 11, except, perhaps, that 
Dongan was far more tolerant, and hated the French, under 
whom he had once served as a military officer. Though a pro- 
fessed papist, he was a decided enemy to the French, who.se 
schemes of aggrandizement on the northern frontier he per- 
sistently opposed, even against the expressed wishes of his 
master, the Duke of York, afterward James II. The people 
of the province, and especially of the island, where he resided, 
lived in constant dread of his religion. Later on he was or- 
dered to proclaim James II king, to assist at the conference 
between Lord Effingham and the Five Nations, and in causing 



120 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

the king's arms to be set up through all their villages and to 
l)lace arms in their hands. 

Colonel Dongan had the Indian affairs very much at heart, 
and had gained the respect and esteem of the Five Na- 
tions. He was deeply interested in the intercourse of the French 
and English with them, and jealous of the action of the former. 
In carrying forward this work in which he was so much in- 
terested, he was obliged to mortgage his property to Robert 
Livingston to secure the payment of the expenses of the ex- 
pedition to Albany in 1689. This mortgage is dated May 1, 
1689, the sum which was secured by it was £2,172, 6s, S^d, 
which Livingston had, by Dongan's order, laid out for eight 
month's provisions for the troops and presents for the In- 
dians. The term of the mortgage was five years. It covered 
not only the manor of Castletown, but other parcels which 
Dongan had bought on the island. These were one hundred 
and eighty acres at Old Town, bought of Mary Britton, another 
parcel at Old Town, bought of Peter None, and another, on 
the south side, bought of James Largie. 

Besides these possessions on Staten Island, Governor Dongan 
had a large tract on the Hudson river, extending from Haver- 
straw to Murderer's creek, a tract of four hundred acres in 
Queens county given him by the people of Hempstead town for 
renewing their patent, and another tract on Martha's Vineyard, 
besides property in the city of New York. On Staten Island he 
had a "hunting lodge." The city records contain an account 
of a meeting of the council at which Governor Dongan was ab- 
sent "being engaged at his hunting lodge on Staten Island, 
killing bears." At the time of the papist panic in 1689 it was 
suspected that Colonel Dongan was in sympathy with the plot, 
and his mill was searched, and four guns were found in it. 
These it is said were secreted under some bags and blankets. 
Leisler issued orders for his arrest, but we do not know that it 
was accomplished. 

After his release from office Colonel Dongan retired to his pos- 
sessions on Staten Island, where he I'emained till the spring of 
1691, if not longer. Later, but at what time is not known, h« 
retired to his native country, Ireland, where it is said he finally 
succeeded to the earldom of Limerick. In a conveyance now 
on record in the clerk's office of this county bearing date 1715, 
he is styled as such. 



HISTORY OF UICUMOND COUNTY. 121 

On the 9tli of May, 1715, Colonel Thomas Dongan, by the 
conveyance just mentioned (which is in itself a curious and rare 
specimen of legal skill, on account of its complex limitations 
and conditions) "being willing to preserve and uphold and ad- 
vance the name and family of Dongan, and having no issue of 
his own to continue the same," conveyed to his nephews, Thomas, 
John and Walter, and to the male issue of the survivor or sur- 
vivors of them, "in tail male for ever,'' all his manor of Castle- 
town, together with property situated elsewhere. This act and 
its final results is a demonstration of the scripture passage Avliich 
we quote from the XLIX Psalm : "Their inward thought is, 
that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling 
places to all generations ; they call their lands after their own 
names. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not : he is 
like the beasts that perish." 

Having thus disposed of his estate in this country, he died, 
as some think, in London, in 1715, at the ripe old age of 81 
years. He was buried in St. Pancras" church-yard, Middlesex, 
just north of London. This old church-yard has long been 
noted as the burial place of such Roman Catholics as die in 
London and its vicinity. It is accounted a desirable resting- 
place for different reasons, one of which is that St. Pancras' was 
the last church in England where mass was held after the Refor- 
mation. The sepulchre of the late Governor Dongan bears the 
following inscription : — 

"The Right Honble. Thomas Dongan Earl of Lyjierick, 
died December the fourteenth. Aged Eighty one years. 

1715. 
Requiescat in pace. Amen.'''' 

Leaving the founder of the name and estate of Dongan on 
Staten Island we will now follow as well as we are able the 
descent of the family and title line of the estate. Of the 
nephews we know but little. 

John probably had but little or nothing to do with Staten 
Island. Beyond the appearance of his name in a list of sub- 
scribers toward finishing Trinity church steeple, dated May 1, 
1711, we have found no trace of him. He may have been unmar- 
ried, or died without male issue and therefore had no share in 
the estate on Staten Island. 

Thomas is but little known in records pertaining to Staten 
Island. It is said that he sold his share of the possessions of 



122 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

his uncle. He may have been a man of high passions and 
sumptuous living, with reckless habits. He was involved in a 
duel with Dr. John Livingston, September 7, 1713, in which 
Livingston was killed. The trial of Dongan by the supreme 
court took place two days later, and he was found guilty of 
manslaughter. Without knowing what his subsequent fate was, 
we are obliged to leave him here. There is slight ground for 
the conjecture that he left this country for Ireland and died 
there in 1721. 

Walter has left some evidences of being a man of honor and 
business ability. He occupied the manor house and a large 
portion of the landed estate. His custom was to lease his lands 
to tenants. He was surrogate of the county in 1731^. He mar- 
ried for his first wife, Rath, daughter of Richard Floyd (2d), of 
Setauket, L. I., whose wife was Margaret, daughter of Colonel 
Matthias Nicoll, the secretary of the colony. Walter and Ruth 
Dongan had three children, Thomas, Richard and Elizabeth. 
Ruth, who was born August 6, 1699, died July 28, 1783. Walter 
afterward married a Miss Sarah Herriman of Elizabeth, N. J., 
by whom he had a son, Edward Vaughn Dongan. Walter died 
July 2o, 1749, being fifty-seven years of age. His estate on the 
island descended mainly to his oldest son Thomas, and his 
widow afterward married John Herriman, of Elizabeth. The 
daughter Elizabeth was born in 1729, and died July 1, 1749, 
aged 19 years and 7 months. Her grandfather, Richard Floyd, 
remembers her in his will, dated February 27, 1738, in the fol- 
lowing item: " I give also unto my Grand Daughter Dongan, 
that is to say the Daughter of my beloved Daughter Ruth 
Dongan Deceased, one hundred Pounds Current lawful Money 
of Xew York to be paid on her Marriage Day."' As she died 
unmarried, this item was never executed. 

Edward Vaughn Dongan was born January 3, 1749. After 
his father's death he went with his mother to live in Elizabeth. 
He was brought up a lawyer and lived at New Brunswick, N. J., 
where he married a daughter of Squire La Grange, a lawyer of 
that place. On the outbreak of the revolution he made himself 
obnoxious on account of his adherence to royalty and was 
driven from his home before the British landed in New York. 
His father-in-law and family were in sympathy with him, and 
their estate was afterward forfeited. Edward Vaughn Dongan 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 123 

was in command of a body of loyal troops, witli the rank of 
colonel, and was posted at the Morning Star at the time of Sul- 
livan's raid on Staten Island, August 22. 1777. In this engage- 
ment he received a wound from the effects of which he died in 
the hospital in New York city on the first of September. His 
only child, which with its mother had suffered great exposure 
on the day referred to, died on the same day, and was buried 
in the same grave with him. His widow afterward went with 
her family to reside at Farmington, Hackney, England. 

Richard Dongan, the second son of Walter, went to sea when 
a young man. During the French war he was impressed on 
board a British man-of-war, and in the service lost an arm. 
He married Miss Cornelia Shanks of Long Island, by whom he 
had a son, Walter, who was born January 2, 1763, and another 
son who died young. Richard died January 1, 1780, in his 61st 
year ; and his wife died April 28, 1814, in the 83d year of her 
age. This Walter had a distillery, located near a copious 
spring on the Richmond turnpike, near Four Corners. He also 
possessed a large farm at that place, whether by inheritance or 
purchase we have not learned. He had two sons, Thomas and 
Richard, and four daughters, one of whom married a Mr. 
Toombs, another married Peter La Forge, and the names of the 
other two were Abigail and Ruth. Walter died in February, 
1855. 

We now take up the direct line in which the manor house with 
its accompanying estate was held until it passed out of the pos- 
session of the family altogether. 

Thomas Dongan was the eldest son of Walter, the nephew of 
the ex-governor. His first wife was Rachel, and she died April 
25, 1748. at the age of 24 years. Slie had one daughter, who 
died December 22, 1749, 3 years of age. Both wife and daughter 
are buried in the old Moravian cemetery. Thomas afterward 
married Magdalen, the eldest daughter of Rev. Richard Charl- 
ton, rector of St. Andrew's church. By her he had a son, John 
Charlton Dongan. Thomas Dongan appears as a vestryman of 
Trinity church. New York, from 1748 to 1759. In order to ad- 
just the claims upon him to which his young half brother Ed- 
ward V. wvas entitled, he on the 15th of April, 1757, gave a 
mortgage to John Herriman and Sarah his wife (the step-mother 
of Thomas, she being the late widow of his father) on several 
tracts of land lying in the manor of Castletown, adjoining each 



124 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Other, and then being in possession of tenants, to secure tlie 
payment of £40 a year till Edward Vaughn should reach his 
majority, and the payment of £1,000 when that time arrived. 
In consideration of these payments Edward Vaughn should 
relinquish all claim against the said Thomas or the estate of 
the late Walter Dongan. The aggregate extent of land covered 
by this instrument was about seven hundred acres. The will 
of Thomas Dongan bears date March 8, 1765, and it appointed 
his wife, Magdalen, sole executrix, and by it he bequeathed 
to his son John Charlton Dongan, all his estate, and in case of 
his death, while in his minority, the estate was to go to his 
mother and to her heirs forever. Of the time of his death we 
are not informed. 

John Charlton Dongan, son of Thomas, and grandson of 
Walter the nephew of the governor, was educated for a lawyer, 
and was admitted to the bar May 6, 1791. He was a man of 
some prominence in his time. He was a supervisor here in 
1785, and was in the state legislature several times, where in 
1788-9 he was a prominent leader of the Schuyler or federal 
party and served on some important committees. As an 
attorney-at-law he had an office at 25 Courtlandt street, New 
York, in 1795. He possessed a considerable land on State 
street, New York, in addition to the estate on Staten Island, 
which then comprised about six hundred acres, all of which he 
inherited from his father. He is said to have been an honor- 
able man, but being a free liver and given to drink, he fell into 
careless habits and descended the scale of respectable standing 
and financial advantage until he reached the lowest extreme. 
His wife was Patience Moore, of Newtown, L. I., a sister of 
Benjamin Moore of that place. She, it is said, was of little ad- 
vantage to him, being herself also a partner in his failings. 
They had only two children, Thomas Charles Bradish, who died 
November 25, 1789, and John Charlton, Jr., who died October 
23, 1791, a little over 5 years of age. His State street property 
was sold and its proceeds lost in speculation. He became in- 
volved and, about 1795, sold the manor house and the accom- 
panying estate to his brother-in-law McVickar, whose wife was 
sister to his wife. He then had a general vendue and sold off 
all the stock and movables belonging to the estate, and the sale 
returned about $10,000. He and his wife agreed to put this in 
bank and live on the proceeds. She returned to her own fam- 



1'9 > 







:: S: :; 







































S -J 



— ■■ ■* '~L 1^ ■ ''"i-- ^~- ^ ■ 'V 






J^r 



\ 



4 






I. 
























^-' ^ A *^ *i «r ^ - 







'C 



* », >-- , ■ 



tf' 



I 

1 



-<.. f ---^ 










HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUKTY. ISil 

ily, the Moores, at Newtown, and he, sinking still deeper in 
intemperance, accepted the position of a sergeant of foot or 
marines and went on a voy^-e at sea on a man-of-war. This 
was in 1798 or 1799. He was familiarly known as "Jack" 
Dongan. The last of his financial resources were finally ex- 
hausted and, broken down in health, he became a public charge 
for his living. Fortunately he had a god-mother, who lived in 
Jamaica, West Indies, and she learning his condition, sent 
money to pay his passage, and he went thither to complete the 
measure of his broken down life under her generous care and 
patronage. 

The remnant of the lordship containing the manor house was 
sold by John C. Dongan to John McVickar. He occupied it as a 
country seat from 1795 to 1802, when he sold it to Alexander 
McComb. McVickar constructed a canal two miles long from 
Fresh pond to the mill, took a hand in many public enteri^rises, 
and helped Mr. Vanderbilt the elder to funds with which to 
procure a piragua and dock at Factory ville. McComb sold 
the place to John Bodine, the younger, and he to his father. 
By the latter it was sold to Judge Edwards for Abraham Varick. 
But why continue to follow the changes. The glory of the 
manor has departed ; the last lord of its dominion has a long 
time slept in his grave, and the venerable manor house has been 
swept away by the devouring flame. Surely "man in honor 
abideth not." 



"This Following Pattent foraPeeceof Land LyeingattKarles 
Neck att the Fresh kill on Staten Island Granted to Barne Ty- 
sen being Omitted to be Recorded when Granted is Now Entred 
att the Request of the said Barne Tysen this 29th day of Nu- 
vembr. 1681. 

" Edmund Andros Esq'". Seigneor of Sausmarex Lievt. and 
Governor Generall under his RoyU. Highs. James Duke of 
Yorke and Albany &c. of all his Terretorys in America Where- 
as by Virtue of my Warrant y. hath Benn Laid out for Barne 
Tysen a Certaine Peece of Land Lyeing at Karles Neck at the 
Fresh Kill uj^on Staten Island being in Breadth by the Meadow 
side fforty and five Rods Ranging South East two hundred 
Eighty and fouer Rods Being Bounded to the Southwest by the 
Land of Thomas Morgan to the South East by the Commons 
and to the North East by the Land of Wolford Proll with tenn 



126 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUIfTy. 

Acres of Salt Meadow fronting to the said Land and f ouer Acres 
of Fresh Meadow upon the Hills in the Reare of the Neck Con- 
teining in all Ninety foner Acres as by the Returne of the Sur- 
vey und' the Hand of the Surveyor: Doth and may appeare 
Know Yee that by vertue of his Maties Letters Pattents and 
the Commission and Authority unto me Given by his Royll 
Highs I have Given and Granted and by these Presents Doe 
hereby Give and Grant unto the said Barne Tyseu his Heires 
and Assigns the afore recited Peece of Land and Premisses with 
their and every of their Appurtenuces. To have and to hold 
the said Peece of Laud and Premisses unto him the said Barne 
Tysen his Heires and Assignes unto the proper use andBehoofe 
of the said Barne Tysen his Heires and Assignes For ever Hee 
making Improvem* thereon according to Law and Yeelding 
and Paying therefore Yearly and everj' Yeare unto his Royli 
Highs use as a Quitt Rent one Bushell of Good Winter 
Wheate unto such Officer or Officers as shall be Empowred to 
Receive the same. Given under my Hand and Sealed with the 
Seale of the Province in New Yoike this twenty Ninth Day of 
September in the 29tli Yeare of his Mat'^s Reigne Annoq 
Dumini 1077. 

The Meadow to be pro^jorconable with the Rest of the In- 
habitants. 

E. Andross. 

" Examined by me 

" Matthias Nicolls Seer. 
I do hereby Certify the aforegoing to be a true 
Copy of the Original Record Comiiared there 
with By me. 

" Lewis A. Scott, Secretary." 



" Recorded at ye Request of Daniell Lake & Compa 
" William the third by the Grace of God of England Scotland 
fifrance and Ireland King Defender of the ffaith &c To all to 
whome these p^'sents shall Come Sendeth Greeting. Whereas 
our Loveing Subjects Daniell Lake and Joseph Holmes have by 
their Petitions Presented unto our trusty and well beloved John 
Nanfan Esqi' our Lt Govern'' & Commander in Cheif of our 
Province of New Yorke and the Territories Depending thereon 
in America &c Pray our Grant and Conlirmation of a Certain 
Tract of Land on Staten Island in the County of Richmond 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 127 

Beginning at ye Nortliwest Corner of the Lott of Land Laid out 
for Peter Billjean in the Reer of his three Lotts Granted by 
Sr Edmond Andros & Runs thence IXorth Westerly by the Line 
of Abraham Lakerman & William Barker to ye Land of Tennis 
Eghberts and Vincent fountain & so runs alongst his Line 
North Easterly to the South East Corner thereof thence to the 
Northwest Corner of Jacques Guyen & so by the Reer of 
of Bitteans Lotts Westerly to ye Place where begunn being 
Bounded on the Northwest by Abraham Lakerraan & William 
Barker on the North East by Tennis Eghberts and Vincent 
fountain on the South East by the Lotts of Isaac Billjean & on 
the South West by the Lotts of Peter Billjean Conteining two 
hundred acres w^'li reasonable request wee being willing to 
Grant Know Yee that of our Speciall Grace Certain Knowledge 
and meer motion wee have Given Granted Ratifyed and Con- 
firmed & by these pi'sents Doe for us our Heires and Successors 
Give Grant Ratifye and Confirme unto our s*^ Loveing Subjects 
Daniell Lake and Joseph Holmes all the aforecited Tract of 
Land within our County of Richmond & within the Limitts & 
Bounds aforesd together with all and Singular the Woods Under- 
woods Trees Timber feedings Pastures Meadows Marshes 
Swamps Ponds Pools Water watercourses Rivers Rivoletts Runs 
Streams fishing fowling hunting and hawkeing Mines Mineralls 
Silver and Gold Mines Excepted and all other Profitts benefitts 
Privilledges Liberties Advantages Hereditamts and appurte- 
nances whatsoever to the afoerecitd Tract of Land within the 
Limitts and bounds aforementioned belonging or in any wise 
appertaining to have and to hold all the afoerecited Tract of Land 
together wth all and Singular the woods underwoods Trees 
Timber feedings Pastures Meadows Marshes Swamps Ponds 
Pools watercourses Rivers Rivers Rivoletts Runs Brooks 
Streams fishing fowling hunting and hawkeing Mines Mineralls 
Silver and Gold Mines Excepted & all other Profliitts Benefitts 
Privilledges Liberties Advantages Hereditaments and appurte- 
nances whatsoever to the aforesd Tract of Land within the 
Limitts and Bounds aforementioned belonging or in any wise 
appertaining unto to them the said Daniell Lake and Joseph 
Holmes theii' Heires and assignes to the only Proper use benefitt 
and behoof of them tbe said Daniell Lake and Joseph Holmes 
their Heires and assignes forever to be holden of us our Heires & 
Successors in free and Comon Soccage as of our Mann^' of East 



128 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Greenwch in our County of Kent within onr Realm of England 
Yielding Rendring & Paying therefore Yearly and every Year 
unto us our Heires and Successors at our Uity of New Yorke 
on the feast Day of the Nativity of our blessed Saviour the 
annuall and Yearly Rent of twelve Shillings Currt Money of 
New Yorke in Lieu and Stead of all other Rents Dues Dutys 
Services and Demands whatsoever In Testimony whereof wee 
have Caused the Great Seale of our said Province to be here- 
unto affixed Witness John Nanfan Esqi" onr Lieu* Govern' 
& Comander in Cheif of our Province of New Yorke &c at 
our ffort in New Yorke the 20th day of Aprill in the fourteenth 
year of our Reign. 

" John Nanfan. 
" By his honrs Comand 

M: Clarkson, Secry. 

"I do hereby Certify the aforegoing to be a true 

Copy of the Original Record. 
"Compared therewith By Me 

"Lewis A. Soott, Secretary." 



Many other patents were granted for lands on Staten Island. 
These we have already said were generally for small i)arcels. 
From the quit-rents affixed to such grants the colonial governors 
obtained a considerable revenue. A patent was granted by 
Governor Fletcher, December 20, 1697, to Sarah Scidmore for a 
tract of land on the south side of the island, at Old Town. The 
annual quit-rent on this was four shillings. The tract was soon 
after in the possession of Jacob Berger, and by the middle of 
the century belonged to John Keteltas in whose family it 
remained foi' several generations. A patent was granted by 
Queen Anne, September 1, 1708, to Francis Vincent for several 
parcels of land on the island, in which mention is made of the 
following adjoining owners : Peter Lecount, Albert Janson, one 
Pinhorne, John Melyore, John Breveele, Francis Welton, John 
Bodine, Benjamin Cooper, Mark Dussassway, Abraham Cannon, 
Jacob Galliott, John Cashee and Joshua Carsoon. In locating 
these parcels the following neighboring points are mentioned : 
Courtlandt, Fresh kill (16 acres of salt meadows at the mouth 
of it, "being almost round a certain Hammock of Upland," 
which is included, the whole "bearing N. W. from the house of 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 129 

John Morgan"), Daniel's neck, Thomas's creek, Charles's neck, 
and Abraham Cannon's creek. 

The last royal patent for lands on Staten Island was granted 
by Queen Anne, to Lancaster Symes, on the 22d of October, 
1708. It conveyed all unappropriated lands, meadows, etc., 
etc., on the island, at an annual rent of six shillings current 
money of New York, payable on Lady-day of each year. It is 
recorded at Albany in book No. 7 of Patents, page 371, and 
quite recently recorded in this county. 

The following receipts copied from the originals will be of in- 
terest to show the manner in which the business was done. 
Numerous receipts of the kind may be found in all parts of the 
county. 

"Received of Arent Van Amer Two Bushells and a half of 
Wheat in full for One years Qaitt Rent of two Lotts of Land 
on Staten Island, one Granted to Philip Bendell & the other to 
John Taylor the 15th December 1680, being to the 25th March 
last, as Witness my hand this 12th August 1761. 

Rich" Nicholls Dep'y Recr Geni." 

" Received of Arent Van Amer Five bushells of Wheat in 
full for two Years Quitt Rent of the two Lotts of Land above 
mentioned to the 25th March last. As Witness my hand the 
10th June 1763. 

RiciiD. Nicholls Dep*J' Recr Gen'." 



"Received of Aarnt Van Amer Five Bushells of Wheat in 
full for two years Quitt Rent of the two Lotts of Land above 
mentioned to the 25th of March last. As Witness my hand 
this 2'd May 1765. 

RiCHD. Nicholls Depty Red- Gen'." 

The above receipts are all written in a distinct, but very 
cramped hand on a scrap of paper 4 by 6 inches. The three 
following are written on the reverse side of the same paper. 

" Received of Arent Van Amer two bushells and a half of 
Wheat in full for one years Quit Rent of the before mentioned 
Lotts of Land due 25 March last. 

New York 14 May 1766 John Moore Dep. ReC. Gem." 
9 



130 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

"Received of Arent Van Amer Two Bushells & a half of 
Wheat in full for One Years Quit Rent of the before mentioned 
Lotts of land due 25 March last. 

Witness my hand 13 May 1767 

John Moore Dep. Rec''. Gen'. 



)) 



"Reed of Arent Van Amen Two Bushells & half of Wheat in 
full for one Years Quit Rent of the above mentioned Lotts due 
25th March last. Witness mv hand the 6th July 1768." 



There are three other receipts for wheat, bringing the pay- 
ment down to March 25th, 1775. The individual mentioned by 
the names of Arent Van Amer — Van Amen — Van Naum, was 
Aaron Van Name, the grandfather of Mr. Michael Van Name, 
and his brother Charles Van Name, both of Mariner's Harbor. 



" Patent granted to John Taylor for a Tract of Land on Staten 
Island dated 15th Decemr 1680 at One & a half Bushel Wheat 
per Annum. 

I From 25 March 1775 y ^ 
Aaron Van Nanm - to 25 May 1787 is 12 ; 2 

( Deduct 8.— 



4. 2 @ 9/ £1. 17. 6 
14 years commutation — 9/ 6. 6. - 



£8. 3. 6 



Reced New York June 21st 1787 from Aaron Van Naum per 
the hands of Joshua Mercereau Esq. Public Securities which 
with the Interest calculated thereon to the 25th May last 
amounts to Eight Pounds three shillings & Six Pence in full for 
Arrears of Commutation on the above Patent. 



£8. 3. 6 Peter S. Cartenius State And''" 



It will be observed that during the royal government the quit 
rent was payable in wheat, according to the terms of the patent. 
Under the federal government it appears to have been com- 
muted for money. 

Resuming the order of our narrative we find the commotions 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 131 

which had disturbed the people here for many years and finally 
reached the culmination of disorder and unrest in the usurpa- 
tion of Leisler, were followed by an extended period of com- 
parative tranquility, during which the colonial government was 
established upon a more equitable basis and was more uniform 
in its administration. From this time forward till the disrup- 
tion of the colonial government in May, 1775, the throne of 
Great Britain held undisputed control over the colony of New 
York. The government, as then constituted and afterward 
maintained, was composed of the governor and council, ap- 
pointed by the tlirone, and the assembly, whose members were 
elected by the freeholders of each county. The council at first 
numbered seven members, but was afterward increased to 
twelve. The governor was the chief executive. The legislative 
power lay in the governor, council and assembly. All laws 
were further subject to the revision of the king, to whom they 
were always to be sent within three months from the date of 
their passage. 

Governor Slaughter appears to have shown more regard for 
the rights and wishes of the people than his predecessors had 
done, or some of his successors did. He succeeded, as far as 
the nature of the government would allow, in quieting the 
commotions that had disturbed the peace of the people, and in 
restoring harmony and friendly relations in the colony. Among 
his first acts was the confirmation, under the seal of the prov- 
ince, of all grants, charters or patents that had previously 
been issued. We may say that with his administration a new 
era commenced. The gubernatorial reins passed in frequent 
succession from one to another down through the prosj^erous 
years of the colony. 

The governors and time of their administrations were as 
follows, those who died in office being marked by an asterislv (*): 

Henry Slaughter,* 1(391 ; Richard Ingoldsby, 1691-92 ; Ben- 
jamin Fletcher, 1692-98 ; Richard, Earl of Bellmont,* 1698- 
1701 ; John Nanfan, 1701-02 ; Lord Cornbury, 1702-08 ; John, 
Lord Lovelace,* 1708-09; Richard Ingoldsby, 1709-10; Ger- 
ardus Beekman, 1710; Robert Hunter, 1710-19 ; Peter Schuyler, 
1719-20; William Burnet,* 1720-28 ; John Montgomery,* 1728- 
31 ; Rip Van Dam, 1731-82 ; William Casby*, 1732-36 ; George 
Clarke, 1736-43 ; George Clinton, 1743-53 ; Sir Danvers Os- 
borne,* 1753 ; James Be Lancey, 1753-55 ; Sir Charles Hardy, 



132 HlSTOliY OF r.ICHJIOND COUNTY. 

1755-57; James De Lancey,* 1757-60 ; Cadwallader Golden, 
1760-61 ; Robert Monkton, 1761; Cadwallader Golden, 1761-65; 
Sir Henry Moore,* 1765-69 ; Gadwallader Golden, 1769-70 ; 
John, Lord Dunmore, 1770-71 ; Willam Tryon, 1771-77. 

We now turn to notice the courts, the officers connected with 
them, and some of their works, during this period. The courts 
were at first held in different places in the county, wherever . 
convenience indicated. It is not known at what time they were 
first held at Stony Brook as a regular place for them, but we 
find the custom prevailing during the early years of the eigh- 
teenth century. At the .same time the jail .seems to have been 
at " Guckoldstown," the early name for Richmond, where it 
was built in 1710, as the following order would indicate : 

"Ordered that Mr. Lambart Garisone and Mr. Wm. Tillyer. 
See the prison House built at Guckols Towne — y<' Dimensions 
Twelve foot in breadth, fourteen foot Long, Two Story high, 
six foot y'^ Loer Room from beam to plank, and the uper Story 
Six foot, all to be built with stone, and for building of the sd. 
prison the Said Undertakers have hereby power To take the 
Monys out of the Collectors hands for carying on the sd. work 
& the order of y^ sd. Undertakers & Receipts shall be a Suffi- 
cient discharge to y^ sd. Collectors." 

This building proved inadequate to the purpose as is seen by 
the fact that at a court of sessions held in the court house at 
Stony Brook, on the 5th day of March, in the ninth of his Ma- 
jesty's' reign (1723), "Benjamin Bill Eq-" high Sheriffe of the 
County of Richmond Complains to the Court of the Insuffi- 
ciency of his majesty Goal for the said County that it is all to- 
gether soe Insufficiency that it is impossible to keep any pris- 
oner safe as the Said Goal Divers prisoners having lately Es- 
caped thereout and therefore the said sheriffe protest against 
the Inhabitants of the County of Richmond for Repairing the 
said Goal and against all waits Escapes that may Ensue for the 
Insufficiency of the said Goal and pray that his protest may be 
entered accordingly." 

In 1725, Nicholas Larzelier, then high sheriff, repeated the 
same complaint in the same terms. Two years after he repeated 
it again, but what result attended the complaints we are not in- 
formed. A new court house and jail were probably erected at 
Richmond, whence the county seat was removed and estab- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 138 

lislied. The earliest mention of the court of sessions being held 
at Richmond is dated September 2, 1729. 

Previous to the erection of a court house the courts were held 
in private houses or taverns. The following entry gives some 
hints : 

"March 2, 1713 Court a journed till to morow at Ten 

of the Clock in the forenoon to the North Side To Coll Grahams 
Court opened, and ajourned Till y^ fist Tuesday on 7ber [Sep- 
tember] next.— God Save the Queen." 

Col. Aug. Graham was one of the Judges of the common pleas 
and sessions. 

Debtors were arrested and obliged to give bail or go to prison. 
The return of the precept of arrest by the sheriff or constable 
was " Cepi Corpus." In almost every instance where a prisoner 
was acquitted by the jury, he was discharged by the court upon 
payment of costs. The courts of general sessions were fre- 
quently conducted by an overflowing bench, as for example, on 
the 22d of September, 1761, there were present the first, second 
and third judges, and nine justices, making in all a bench 
of twelve. It was a common thing for a court to be constituted 
with eight, nine or ten judges. 

The following abstracts from court records will be read with 
nterest : 

•'At a Court of Sessions held for the county of Richmond 
March 3, 1712. 

"Jos. Arrowsmith, Lambert Garrison, Nathi Britton, 
Abm. Coole [Cole], Peter Rezeau, Esq^ 

"March ye 4th. Court opened and Grand Jury calld. The 
presentmts of the Grand Jury brought in ; the Court orders 
prosess to be issued out against those presented— viz. Peter 
Bibout for beating Mr Mony [Manee] and his wiffe. Barnt Mar 
ling, Andrew Bowman, William Foord & The Taylor peter 
peryne & Vn. Battler, Peter Catherick and Nath^ Brittin Junr. 
all for fighting. John Dove and John Bilevv for carrying of 
Syder upon the Sabbath Day. Abraham Van Tyle for allowing 
his negroe to Cary Irone to the Smiths on the Sabbath day, and 
Mark Disosway for being drunk on the Sabbath day." 



At a court of sessions held March 5th, 1716, " it was ordered 
by the court that Nicholas Brittin pay Twelve shillings fRne 
for his misbehavior to Nath' Brittin Esq. and also ordered that 



134 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

he beg Justice Brittins pardon and promise to doe so no more, 
and also to pay all the charges of this action." 

September 3d. 1717, all the retailers of strong liquors were 
summoned to appear before the court of general sessions to 
show by what authority they retailed ; thereupon appeared 
"Mauris Williams, Jean Brown, Anthony Wright, Barnt 
Symerson, Daniel Lane, John Garrea, David Bisset, Cornelius 
Eyman, Lamb* Garrittson Jun. Benj" Bill, Jacob Johnson, Isaac 
Symerson, Joseph Bastido " — thirteen in the whole county. 

Simon Van Name was a justice of the peace, and a prominent 
man in his day. We give below copies of a coux)le of legal 
documents issued by him: 

" Richmond County 

To the Constable of the north diuision where as Complaind 
is made by Euert van name unto me Simon van name one of his 
Magistices Justice of the peace that Hennery day owith him 
the Sum of Seuen Shillings and neglect to Pay the same this is 
theair for to require you to somins the satne hennery day to 
apear before me at my dweling house on thursday next at one 
of the aclock in the after noon which will be the 13 day of this 
instient month els Jugment shall go against him by The fault 
giuen from under my hand this the tenth day of March Ano 
domini 1728-9 

SiME VAN NAME." 

The following venire has a paper attached to it containing the 
names of twenty pei'sons, the first twelve of whom are num- 
bered, and probably constituted the jury in the cause: 
" Richmond to the Constable of 

County the North devision 

Where as there is an action depending between Tommas mor- 
gan plantif & Isaac Garrison Defended Both of the County 
Abousd [above said] and the Defendant Desires a Jury upon 
the sd Action These are therefore in his Maiestyes Name to 
Require & Command you to Svmnions Twelve Sufficient Men 
to Appear Before me on Wensday next at Twelve of the Clock 
in the forenoon of the Sameday at my Dwelling Hous to Serve 
as Jvrers upon the sd Action Depending Whereof fail not 
Given under my hand Thee twenty seventh day of July Annoq. 
Dom. 1730 

SiME VAN NAME." 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 185 

Names attached; " 1 Abraham corshon, 2 richard crips, 3 
John mengalroU, 4 garet cruse, 5 philip merel, 6 honas deker, 
7 barnt sweme, 8 ranses bodine, 9 nicholes stilwell, 10 nichles 
dejiue, 11 John boker, 12 tunas te bout, nickles bush, mr 
couanouer, art simanson, Jacob benet, lambart garison, thomas 
lisk, alexander lisk, ben goman ayrs." 

On the reverse of the venire are the following endorsements: 
" Richmond County July the 29 
the Jui'y finds for the sd defendant. 

venire 0. 1. 6 

to the constabel 0. 

swaring the Jury 2. 

swaring y evdens 1. 6 

swaring the Constel 6 

Entring verdeck 1. 



6—6 

The last court of common pleas and general sessions in this 
county under the colonial government was held September 26, 
1775. Following that a period of nearly nine years elapsed be- 
fore another court of the kind was held. 

The following names appear as justices of the peace in this 
county at an early period: Ellis Duxbury, 1692; John Shotwell, 
1692; Abraham Lackman, 1693; Cornells Corsen, 1689-90; 
Joseph Billop, 1702-3. 

The only case of capital punishment executed under a decree 
of the colonial courts, of which we have learned, took place 
about two or three years before the revolutionary war. We 
depend entirely upon tradition for the account of it, which is as 
follows : A negro, named Anthony Neal, was accused of break- 
ing into and robbing the store kept by Col. Aaron Cortelyou. 
The goods that were taken from the store did not exceed in 
value twenty dollars, and they were all found secreted in a 
wheat feald near by. The accused negro, after being imprisoned 
about two months, was tried and convicted and hung. The ex- 
ecution took place just by the school house at Richmond, the 
negro protesting his innocence with his latest breath. It is said 
that on the day following the execution his wife confessed that 
she had committed the theft herself. 

A slight outline of certain important events in European his- 
tory now appears necessary as an introduction to the memorial 



136 IIISTORV OF RICHMOND COtXNTY. 

of an interesting incident, of which Staten Island was the 
scene in the autumn of 1761. Between the years 1756 and 1763 
the seven years' war raged in Germany. In this remarkable 
contest the great Frederick had to defend his recently acquired 
Silesia and the new kingly dignity of his house against the 
combined powers of France, Austria and Russia. This war 
with " the three petticoats " (Elizabeth, Maria Theresa and the 
Pompadour), as he facetiously termed them, was in fact, on his 
part, a desperate struggle for existence, in which he would per- 
haps have succumbed but for the aid of England. In that 
country Frederick, whose religious ideas were of the most un- 
orthodox liberality, came somehow to be regarded as " the 
Protestant hero," and after ignominiously defeating the French 
he naturally became the popular idol. 

This same seven years' war covers in American history a 
space of nine years, and is known by the name of the French 
and Indian war, beginning in 1754, with the disputes about the 
French and English colonial boundaries in the Mississippi and 
Ohio valleys, and blending ultimately with the great European 
contest. In the spring of 1755 the colonies made extensive 
preparations for an attack on the French, but owing to the ig- 
norance of their commanders in regard to the tactics of Indian 
warfare the campaign was utterly unsuccessful. Crown Point 
and Niagara were both assailed, but neither captured. In the 
campaign of 1756 the English losses were even greater, their 
fort at Oswego, with 1,600 men, being captured by the French. 
This was followed by the still more unsuccessful campaign of 
1757, in which Fort William Henry, on Lake George, with its 
garrison of 3,000 men was compelled to surrender to the 
French. 

In 1758, William Pitt (afterward Lord Chatham) was placed 
at the head of the government as prime minister of England. 
A new imi^ulse was now given to the energies of the nation, 
and success followed. In July, Louisburg, which at the former 
peace had been restored to the French, was recaptured. Fort 
Frontenac was captured soon after, and the French were 
compelled to abandon Fort du Quesne. General Abercrombie 
attacked Fort Ticonderoga, but was obliged to retire. 

Encouraged by these successes, the colony of New York re- 
newed her exertions with the utmost energy. In 1759, during 
the short jieriod of five months she raised a sum of $625,000 to aid 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 137 

in carrj'ing on the war, and levied a force of 2,680 men. In that 
levy the qnota for Richmond connty was 55 men. Ticonderoga 
was captnred bj" General Amherst, early in the season, and 
Crown Point surrendered a few days later. In July, General 
Prideanx invested Fort Niagara, and though he was killed in 
the attack. Sir William Johnson, his successor in the command, 
effected its reduction. On the 18th of September, General 
Wolfe laid down his own life in the moment of victory, when 
the English banners floated over the towers of Quebec. In 1760, 
the French made an unsuccessful attempt to recapture Quebec, 
and on the 8tli of September, all the French possessions in 
Canada, except the two small islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, 
at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, were surrendered to the Eng- 
lish. The provincial forces who had been engaged in its reduc- 
tion, now turned their faces homeward, while a large body of 
British troops were established in a camp on Staten Island, 
where they remained for several months. General Robert 
Moncton had command of this army. During their encamp- 
ment here an important ceremony, the investment of Sir Jeffery 
Amherst with the "Order of the Bath " took place, and to this 
interesting event our introductory remarks under this sub- 
ject pointed. Probably Staten Island was never honored with 
being the scene of a more dignifled or important royal ceremon}^ 

On the 28th of August, 1761, General Amherst, having rode 
on horseback down the west side of the Hudson river from 
Albany, arrived in camp at Staten Island. The 35th regiment 
of British regulars, called Otway's regiment, from its com- 
mander, had arrived in the Staten Island camp from Albany about 
two weeks previous. The ceremony of investing General Am- 
herst with the knighthood took place October 25, 1761, in the 
presence of all the dignitaries of the province and a large con- 
course of spectators, assembled at the camp on Staten Island. 

The explanation will not be out of place here that the mili- 
tary order of Knights of the Bath originated, as is supposed, 
about the time of Henry IV, of England. At the coronation of 
that king, in 1339, a number of esquires were made knights of 
the bath because they had watched and bathed meanwhile during 
the preceding night. From that time it was usual for the kings 
of Great Britain to create knights of this order on great and 
joyous occasions, such as their own coronation or the birth or 
marriage of ])rinces or on the eve or following the successful 



138 HISTORY OF KICIIMO^MD COUNTY. 

issue of some great foreign expedition. The investment of 
General Amherst was probably in honor of the advantageous 
conclusion of the struggle with the French on the Canadian 
frontier. The badge of the order was of pure gold, a sceptre of 
three united imperial crowns, from which grew the rose, the 
thistle and the shamrock, and aronnd which was inscribed 
the ancient motto, " Tria juncta in u/io.'''' It was hung by a 
red ribbon from the collar obliquely over the right shoulder. 
Other accessories of the insignia a massive gold collar, rich in 
engraved designs, and a silver star resembling the badge and 
with a glory of rays proceeding from its center, to adorn the 
left shoulder. The order was divided into three ranks, desig- 
nated in importance as first, knights grand crosses ; second, 
knights commanders, and third, knights companions. The 
proper place for their installation to be celebrated was in the 
nave of Henry the Seventh's chapel, Westminster Abbey, 
which in this instance was impracticable. The warrant for 
the ceremony here was found in the following letter from the 
prime minister of England: 

"Whitehall, July 17th, 1761. 
" Sir, 

"His Majesty having been graciously pleased, :is a Mark 

of His Royal Approbation, of the many and eminent Services 
of Major General Amherst, to nominate him to be one of the 
Knights Companions of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath; 
and it being necessary that he should be invested with the En- 
signs of the said Order, which are transmitted to him, by this 
Opportunity; I am to signify to you the King's Pleasure, that 
you should perform that Ceremony; and it being his Majesty's 
Intention, that the same be done in the Most Honourable and 
Distinguished Manner that Circumstances will allow of, you 
will concert, and adjust with General Amherst such Time and 
Manner for Investing him with the Ensigns of the Order of 
the Bath as shall appear to you most proper for shewing all 
due Respect to tlie King's Order, and as may, at the same 
Time mark in the most publick Manner, His Majesty's just 
sense of the Constant Zeal, and Signal Abilities, which Gen- 
eral Amherst has exerted in the Service of His King and 
Country. 

" I am &c. 

"^V. Pitt. 
"Honourable Robert Monckton." 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 139 

In presence of the concourse of people assembled at the time 
and ijlace ajipointed for the ceremonies General Moncton read 
the foregoing letter, and tlien proceeded to place the ribbon over 
General Amherst's shoulder, meanwhile making an apology 
that circumstances would not admit of more formal investi- 
ture. To this General Amherst replied in the following short 
speech : 

" Sir: I am truly sensible of this distinguishing mark of His 
Majesty's royal approbation of my conduct, and shall ever 
esteem it as such. And I must beg leave to express to you the 
peculiar satisfaction I have, and the pleasure it gives me to re- 
ceive this mark of favor from your hands." 

Demonstrations of applause followed the ceremony, and a 
few days later, when General Amherst went from Staten Island 
to the city his arrival there was greeted by the firing of seven- 
teen guns from Fort George. He was now spoken of as "his 
Excellency Sir Jeffery Amherst, K. B., from the army on 
Staten Island." Following this ceremony General Moncton 
was installed governor of New York, and the city was illumi- 
nated. 

Governor Moncton did not remain in the seat of state, but 
appointing a deputy, he went with the army on its expedition 
to the West Indies. The army encamped on Staten Island com- 
prised eleven regiments who had returned from the Canadian 
frontier, under Generals Moncton, Amherst and Otway. The 
encampment was on the central part of the island, and they 
remained here from August till November. Here they formed 
a market and invited the farmers to bring in stock and produce 
to sell to the army. When all was ready the army embarked 
on board of a fleet of one hundred sail of vessels, which on 
the 15th of November put to sea with a fair wind. 

Reviewing the French war, we find but little in which the 
people of Staten Island were directly connected with it. They 
raised their proportion of money and their quota of men as 
contributions to sustain the cause. Of the men we have no 
knowledge farther than that Thomas Arrowsmith was captain 
of a company in 1758 and '59, and Anthony Waters was a 
captain in 1760. 

One of the most important services was the capture of the 
French Fort Frontenac, on the 27th of August, 1758. With 
3,000 men, mostly provincials. Colonel Bradstreet traversed 



HO HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

the wilderness between Albany and Lake Ontario, carrying 
with liim eight pieces of cannon, and three mortars. Among 
these troops was a regiment commanded by Colonel Corse, of 
Qneens county, and in that regiment was Captain Thomas Ar- 
rowsmith's company of Staten Islanders. This regiment con- 
tributed materially to the success of the expedition. Corse 
volunteered to erect a battery during the night of the 26th, and 
effected his purpose under a continuous fire from the fort. On 
the morning of the 27th, this battery opened on the enemy, 
who at once deserted the fort and fled. Tlie material captured 
with the fort consisted of forty-six pieces of cannon, sixteen 
mortars, and a very large quantity of military stores, provisions 
and merchandise. 

In connection herewith the following advertisement which 
appeared in April, 1756, affords interesting suggestions and ex- 
plains itself, though we do not know the I'esult: 

SCHEME 

Of a Lottery for raising One Hundred and Fifty Pounds. 
"Whereas the Free holders and Inhabitants of the County 
of Richmond, are enabled by an Act of the Governor, Council 
and General Assembly, of the Colony of New York, to raise 
by Way of Lottery a Sum not exceeding the sum of One Hun- 
dred and Fifty Pounds, to purchase Arms and Accoutrements, 
for the Use of such Persons, in the said County, as are unable 
to provide themselves therewith, in Cases of Necessity. And 
whereas the said County of Richmond is a Frontier County, 
and liable, in Case of an Attack, to be the first invaded, it is 
hoped all Lovers of their Country will generously encourage 
the said Lottery. 

No. of Prizes. Pieces of Eight. Whole Value. 

1 of 375 is 375 

2 187 and a half are 375 
4 125 500 

10 25 250 

25 12 300 

40 10 400 

60 5 300 



142 Prizes. 
858 Blanks. 



1,000 Tickets at 2 and a Half Pieces of 8 is 2,500 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 141 

'• As soon as the Lottery is finished Drawing, the Prizes will 
be published in the New York Gazette, and the Money paid to 
the Possessors of the fortunate Tickets, fourteen Days after the 
Drawing of the said Lottery, Fifteen per Cent, being first de- 
ducted out of the Whole ; which several Deductions of Fifteen 
per Cent, are to be applied for the Purposes aforesaid. 

"Proper Notice will be given by the Persons appointed to 
manage the said Lottery, of the precise Time of Drawing the 
same ; which Persf)ns are Mr. Samuel Brooms and Colonel Ben- 
jamin Seamans, wlio are to give Bond, and be under Oath, for 
the faithful Performance of the Trust reposed in them. 

"Tickets are to be sold by the said Managers at their respect- 
ive Dwellings, in the said County, and by the Promoters 
hereof." 

Some description of scenes and physical improvements under 
the colonial period will be of interest, and may perhaps be pre- 
sented here as fitly as elsewhere. The laying out of roads was 
one of the first forms of public improvement, some of which 
remain in their original position to the present day. As matter 
of interest in connection herewith we copy the following record. 

" This following Instrument was Recorded for the Inhabit- 
ants of the west divishone by the order of the worshipefull 
bench sitting in Coarte of seshones the week In September 1694 
for the Regelating & Laying out all the highwayes with in said 
quarter & Entred upon Record the : 9th day of septi' 1694. 
Richmond County this first day of September annoque dom: 
1694: By vertue of Awarend dyreckted to the Constabell of the 
west dyvishone with In the fore said County to sommonse the 
free holders of said quarter to Asemble & meete to Gather to 
Ereckte Apoainte & Lay out such hyghwaies with in said quar- 
ter As the Inhabitants shall thinke futt and most Conveainent 
for the youse & behoofe of his magistie and his subgeckts & for 
the Inhabitants That lives back in the woods to transport them- 
selvfes & Goods to the water sid. The freeholders having mett 
to Gather on the day & yeare Above written And ordred and 
apoainted & Laid out the highwayes as heare after are spresi- 
fied 

: 1 : ordered one highway of six Rod to be betwene Anthoney 
deshon and lofa fonoay Cut by Consent AUtred and Laid out 
betwene Anthoney deshon and Jerome deshon begining att the 
Could spring 



142 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

: 2 : To one highway betwene Clays Lazeleare & John Cor- 
nealisone of six Rood 

: 3 : To one highway betwene Williame Elstones Land de- 
ceased & abraham Coole of six Rod. 

: 4 : To one highway betwene mr Leflore & peter Jonsea wide 
of six Rod 

: 5 : To one high way betwene Adame hud & nir Emet next to 
adem hud of six Rod 

: 6 : To one high way betwene fransis barber & the Copper 
Planes of six Rod 

: 7 : To one high way betwene John Ray & markes disosway 
of six Rods 

: 8 : To one highway betwene mr John Lecount & Capten 
bilope of six Rod 

: 9 : To one highway from the west side begining att mr Le- 
counts frount & Runes Cleare over throw the wods by the Line 
of Capten bilope to the widow bealies house 

: 10 : To one highway betwene Cornell dongones Land and 
anthoney Tyse throw the wods To the west side betwene the 
Guset and Richard wods Land but Left out of the Guset & soe 
downe betwene Abraham Cooles & the Land that was williara 
Elstones 

: 11 : To one high way betwene mr Cathentone & the widow 
haule of six Rood 

: 12 : To one high way betwene domeney tarsmaker & John 
bodine of six rood 

: 13 : To one high way by the water side from John bodines 
to Capten bilopes Land of eight Rod 

: 14 : To one high way by the water side begining att mr John 
Lecounts & soe to the pipe makers and from thence throw the 
woods to the water side by peter Jonseames his house and from 
thence by the water side to the Land of John hendriksone 

: 15 : To one high way from peter Jonseameses alongst the 
water side in the frount of mr Stimorles Land & adaham huds 
& Elishea parbers and soe alongst the water side to the Coper 
planers 

:16: To one high way from the koirb of John hendrikesone 
alongst the water side To Clais Laseleare 

This is atrew Record by the order of the Coarte of seshones 
"Entred & Recorded by mee 

" Jacob Corbett : Cla : " 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 143 

In cunipliance with a similar order of the court of sessions 
March 4, 1700, relating to the inhabitants of the north division, 
the following roads were laid out in that quarter and recorded 
the 17th day of March, 1700 : 

"1 : To one highway along the front of Karels neck Six Rods 
in breadth & so along royl land where Oswald ford liveth 

: 2 : To one high way between the Land of Christian Corsson 
& Segir gerritse running to Coecles Town Six rodd in breadth." 

There is a tradition that tlie Richmond road is the oldest road 
on the island, but at what date it was opened we are not in- 
formed. Very probalily it follows the course of a pre-historic 
Indian trail. It is said that it was originallj" laid out eight 
rods in width. The object of this was to prevent as much as 
possible the danger of Indians lying in ambush and attacking 
travellers unawares, by giving a chance for clear vision some 
distance ahead. 

A road from Betty Morgan's house to Dongan's lower mill 
was closed and another opened in its stead April 8, 1758. The 
latter ran from the road that connected Karle's neck and Rich- 
mond, beginning on that road at a point on John Betty's land, 
thence past Betty Morgan's house, taking on its way the course 
of the "gully running to Mr. Totten's Bridge," and other lines 
and paths till it reached Colonel Dongan's lower mill. 

A road from Darby Doyle's ferry to Billop's ferry, and 
another from the Narrows or Simonson's ferry to meet the other 
at tlie school house of Garrison's were laid out March 14, 1774. 
A road from the soldiers' lots to John Bodine's was laid out at 
the same time. 

From a publication in London, dated 1760, we abstract the 
following description of Staten Island at that time : 

" Staten Island at its east end has a feny of three miles to 
the west end of Long Island ; at its west end is a ferry of one 
mile to Perth-Amboy of East Jersies ; it is divided from East 
Jersies by a creek ; is in length about twelve miles, and about 
six miles broad, and makes one county, called Richmond, which 
l)ays scarce one in one and twenty of the provincial tax ; it is 
all in one parish, but several congregations, viz., an English, 
Dutch, and French congregation ; the inhabitants are mostly 
English ; only one considerable village called Cuckold' s-town." 

Professor Kalm, a Frencli traveller, made the journey from 
Philadelphia to New York, by way of Staten Island, on horse- 



144 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

back in 1748. The party of which he was a member left Phihi 
delphia October 27th, and came by way of Bristol, Trenton, 
Princeton, New Brunswick, Woodbridge, Elizabethtown and 
Staten Island. From his accounts of the places on his route 
we make the following extract. 

"At night we took up our lod.f:;mgs at Bllzabethtown Point, an 
inn about two English miles distant from the town, and the 
last house on this road belonging to New Jersey. The man who 
had taken the lease of it, together with that of the ferry near 
it, told us that he paid a hundred and ten pounds of Pennsyl- 
vania currency to the owner. 

" Octoher the 3()th. We were ready to proceed on our jour- 
ney at sun rising. Near the inn whei'e we had passed the night, 
we were to cross a river, and we were brought over, together 
with our horses, in a wretched, half rotten ferry. This river 
came a considerable way out of the country, and small vessels 
could easily sail up it. This was a great advantage to the in- 
habitants of the neighboring country, giving them an oppor- 
tunity of sending their goods to New York with great ease ; and 
they even made use of it for trading to the West Indies. The 
country was low on both sides of the river, and consisted of 
meadows. But theie was no other hay to be got, than such as 
commonly grows in swampy grounds; for as the tide comes up 
in this river, these low plains were sometimes overflowed when 
the water was high. The people hereabouts are said to be 
troubled in summer with immense swarms of gnats or musque. 
toes, which sting them and their cattle. This was ascribed to 
the low swampy meadows, on which these insects deposite their 
eggs, wliich are afterwards hatched by the heat. 

" As soon as we had got over the river, we were upon Staten 
Island, which is quite surrounded with salt water. This is the 
beginning of the province of New York. Most of the people 
settled here were Dutchmen, or such as came hither whilst the 
Dutch were yet in possession of this place. But at present 
they were scattered among the English and other European 
inhabitants, and spoke English for the greatest part. The 
prospect of the country here is extremely pleasing, as it is not 
so much intercepted by woods, but ofl'ers more cultivated fields 
to view. Hills and vallies still continued, as usual to change 
alternately. 

" The farms were near each other. Most of the houses were 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 145 

wooden ; however, some were built of stone. Near every fanii- 
honse was an orchard with apple trees ; the fruit was already 
for the greatest part gathered. Here, and on the whole jour- 
ney before, I observed a press for cyder at every farm-house, 
made in different manners, by which the ijeople had already 
pressed the juice out of the apples, or were just busied with 
that work. Some people made use of a wheel made of thick 
oak planks, which turned upon a wooden axis by means of a 
horse drawing it, much in the same manner as the people do 
with woad ; except that here the wheel runs upon 7:)lanks. 
Cherry trees stood along the enclosures round corn-fields. 

"The cornfields were excellently situated, and either sown 
with wheat or rye. They had no ditches on their sides, but (as 
is usual in England) only furrows; drawn at greater or less dis- 
tances from each other. 

"In one place we observed a water mill, so situated that 
when the tide flowed the water ran into a iwnd : but when it 
ebbed the floodgate was drawn up, and the mill driven by the 
water flowing out of the pond. 

" About eight of the clock in the morning we arrived at the 
place where we were to cross the water, in order to come to the 
town of New YorJc. We left our horses here and went on 
board the yacht : we were to go eight Englisli miles by sea ; 
however we landed about eleven o'clock in the morning at Nem 
York. We saw a kind of wild ducks in immense quantities 
upon the water : the people called them Blue bills, and they 
seemed to be the same with our Pintail ducks, or Linnaeus' s 
Anasacuta : but they were very shy." 

Without any especial attempt at order in arrangement or 
date we shall now review such of the customs and habits of the 
people of this period as the sources of our information afford 
us a glimpse of. 

In colonial times the people used wooden trenches and pew- 
ter platters and other dishes at their meals, the poorer classes 
using the former and the more wealthy using the latter. They 
were very fond of pewter mugs and porringers, which were a 
kind of round bowl with a handle prettily carved, and was 
used more particularly for drinking chocolate, that beverage 
being then more common than tea or coffee. Chocolate was the 
common drink for supper. Coffee and tea were little used, 
though it is said coffee was introduced here about 1650. When 
10 



146 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

tea was first introduced here there seems to have been some un- 
certainty as to what was its most appropriate use, An amus- 
ing story is told of one Mr. Crocheron, who, having heard of 
the new herb called tea, bought a pound of it and took it 
home. When he wished to boil a ham he thought the aromatic 
qualities of the tea would improve it, so he strewed his pound 
of tea over the ham and boiled them all up together. To have 
her pewter ware scoured clean and bright, and well arranged for 
display on the shelves of her kitchen was the pride of the in- 
dustrious housewife. Feather beds were in common use, sum- 
mer and winter. 

The general breakfast of rich and poor was suppaun and 
milk. Toast and cider was a very common article of diet, the 
bread being toasted and put into the cider, and sometimes the 
cider was substituted by chocolate. They often had four meals 
a day. After the breakfast described above came dinner in the 
middle of the day, at which a favorite dish was "samp-por- 
ridge," a kind of soup made with meat, potatoes, turnips and 
the like. Between daylight and dark they took a light lunch, 
with, perhaps, a cup of tea, then had supper about nine o'clock. 
This consisted of suppaun and milk, or bread and milk, or 
toast and cider again. Thus it will be noticed that though 
they liad frequent meals their bill of fare was a very plain one 
and was not remarkable for its variety. 

To ride on horseback was a much more common method of 
travelling than it is now. It was indeed then the most com- 
mon one in use. A man took his wife and a young man took 
his girl, on the same horse with himself, the lady riding behind 
her cavalier. Sometimes a pillion was used, but thej' generally 
rode bare-back. Vehicles were very rare, and consisted almost 
entirely of farm wagons and carts, which were used for pur- 
poses of pleasure as well as business. Carpets on the floors 
were then almost unknown, but the tidy housewife of those 
times kept the floors of her living rooms well scrubbed, bright 
and clean, and then sprinkled white sand over them, distributing 
it in frescoes over the floor by artistic flourishes of the broom. 

Shortly before the revolution, tradition asserts that the people 
were unusually superstitious. A number of stories of witches 
and strange apparitions are handed down. One tells of a child 
that was seen at night all clothed in red on a certain rock at 
Springville which lay across the road from the school house. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 147 

but has since been blasted. Another tells us of a mysterious 
black dog as large as a horse that used to frequent a spot called 
" the signs," and at night would appear beside horseback riders 
and trot along with them. One negro who was riding with a 
broad-axe in his hand, had the boldness to strike a terrific blow, 
but the dog vanished from beneath it and the axe fell to the 
ground. Another tells of a negro slave who ran away and a 
well disposed witch brought him back and jilaced him in his 
bed at night. But he was so much exhausted from the 
rough handling of the witch that he could not get out of bed 
for three or four days. There were also the " Haunted Woods," 
on the road to Old Town, and the "Haunted Bridge," on the 
road to Amboy, each of which had its tale of supernatural 
mystery. Had the sage of "Sunnyside" pitched his tent for 
awhile on Staten Island he might have embalmed some of them 
in the charms of classic literature, where perchance they would 
have been rivals for " Sleepy Hollow " or " Rip Van Winkle." 

In the time of which we are speaking fiax was raised here, 
and linen manufactured from it in the families of the farmers. 
"Flax bees" were social merry-making occasions on which 
labor was combined with entertainment. The flax having been 
properly rotted was " crackled," "hatcheled" and othei'wise 
prepared for the more tedious work of spinning and weaving. 
After the work of the evening was done girls and boys would join 
in a dance for a considerable part of the balance of the night. 
And who shall say that the sturdy youths and ruddy faced 
girls of that day, in their plain home-spun clothing, after an 
evening's vigorous toil and surrounded by the rustic appurten- 
ances of the homes in which they were assembled, did not en- 
joy tile sweets of social intercourse just as fully as the beaux 
and belles of to-day with all the dainty luxuries of modern 
dress and surroundings. 

Nearly all the farmers had slaves in those days. These were 
uniformly well treated. It was customary for them to live, eat 
and sleep in the kitchens. After their household duties for the 
day were accomplished the black women were commonly en- 
gaged in spinning linen or twine. The men also would spin with 
an instrument called a " haspel" the yarn for ropes, to be taken 
to the rope-walks to be made up. 

A list of the names of slaves, male and female, above four- 
teen years of age owned in the north division of Staten Island 



]48 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 



in 1755, is still preserved. We give the list, with the names of 
their owners, as it appears. 

" A List of The Names Male and Female belonging to 



Males. 



Females. 



Thomas Dongan 



1st Thomas Tice 




1st Philis 


2d Ceaser 




2 Peg 


3d Jack 




3 Hanna 


4th Jack Mollato 






5th Joe 






6th Robbin 






7th Parris 


Jacob Corssen Ceneor 




1: Japhory 




1: Mary 


2: Sam 




2: Nanne 


3: Jupeter 








Jacob Corssen Juner 


1 Rose 
2: Nans 




John Vegte 




1: Tom 




1: Bette 


2: Primes 




2: Jean 



Gerardus Beekman 
1 Bristo 

In the Care of G. Beekman and 
Belonging to John Beekman in New York. 
1: One Negro Na. Sam 
2: One Negro Na. Jo 
3: One Negro Na. Warwick 

Antony Watters 
1: One Negro Na, Sam 
2: One Negro Na, Will 

Henry Cruse 



1 June 



1: One W Leana 
2: One W Phillis 



1 One negroNa Charles 



Cornelius Cruse 
Simon Simonson 

1: One Negro Na Napten 

Johanis de Groet 

1: One negro Na Jack 



1: One WNa lade 
2: One W na Dina 
3: One W na Sary 
1: One W na Dina 



1: One W. Na Susanna 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Joseph Rolf 



149 



1: One negro Na, sam 



1: One W, Na Jude 
1: One W, Na Sary 
Cristeiaen Corssen 
1. One Negro Na, Jack 
2: One Negro Na Nenes 

Josuah Merseral 
1: One Negro Na Flip 1: One W, Na Darkis 

John Deceer 
1: One Negro named Jem 

Garret Crussen 



1 : One W, Na Jane 
1: One W, Na mat 
1: One W, Na bet 



1: one Negro Na Bos. 
1 one, Na Jack 
1. one Na. for ten 

1. one Na Sam 
one na Bink 

1 Negor N harry 

2 Dto N John 

1 Negro Tom 

1 Negro Na Quam 

1 Negro Na Jack 

2 Dto Na Tom 

1 Negro Na Ben 
1 Negro Na kos 
1 Negro Na Kinck 

1 Negro Na Tom 

2 Dto Na Cornelias 

3 Dto Na harry 



Garrit Post 

John Roll Junr 

Barent marteling 

Richard merrill 

Otto Van tuyl 

Bastian Ellis 
John Veltmon 
Abraham Prall 

Charles Mecleen 

Margret Simonson 

Joseph Lake 

John Roll 



1. One W, Na flore 
1: One W Na Sary 



One W Na Title 
One W Na Sary 

1 W Na Jane 

2 W, Na Jude 



1 Wench Na Hage 

2 Dto Na Jane 

3 Dto Na Bet 



1 Wench Na floar 
1 Wench Na Peg 
1 Wench Na Sary 



150 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



Elenor 



haughwoiit 



Negro Na Liie 



Negro Na Tom 



1 Negro Na Sambo 



1 Negro Na harrv 



1 Negro Na frank 



1 Negro Na Harry 



Abraham Croclieron 

Barn it De Pue 

John Crocheron 

David Cannon 
Aron Prall 

Chary ty Merrill 

Joseph Begel 



1 Wench Na Bet 



1 Wench Na Mary 



1 AVench febe 



1 Wench Na Bet 



1 Wench Na Philis 
Cornelias Korsan Wench Na Susanna 
" A list of the Negroes of my division in the 
North Compeny of Staten Island. 

" Jacob Corsskn Jur " 

While we are speaking of slavery the following cojiy of an 
advertisement dated July 5, 1756, will throw some light on the 
customs of the time in regard to the subject: 

" Run away the 2d Instant July^ from Jolin Decker, of 
Staten Island, a negro Man, being a short chubby Fellow, with 
extraordinary bushy Hair, is bare foot, and has a Soldier's 
red Great Coat on. Also run away from the Widow Haugh- 
toout, of the said Island, a negro Wench, of middle Size, is with 
Child, and speaks broken English, and has a Bundle of Clothes 
with her. It is sui:)posed they went together. Whoever takes 
up the said negro Man and Wench, and secures them so that 
they be had again, shall have Forty SJiillings Reward, and 
Charges paid by the Owners, John Decker and Widow HaugJi- 
wout.'''' 

As the life of a slave was doomed to be one of labor, intellect- 
ual cultivation was deemed unnecessarj' ; some few, however, 
were taught sufficiently to enable them to read the Bible, and 
as they were admitted to be responsible hereafter for the deeds 
done in this life, religious instructions in pious families were 
not neglected. It was not unusual to see master and slave 
working together in the fields apparently on terms of perfect 
equality, but there were lines drawn, beyond which neither 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. Ii51 

males nor females dared to trespass. In the kitchen, especially 
in the long winter evenings, the whites and blacks indiscrimin- 
ately surrounded the same huge fire, ate apples from the same 
dish, poured cider from the same pitcher, and cracked nuts and 
jokes with perfect freedom. 

The dwellings of the eai'ly settlers were unavoidably rude 
and more or less uncomfortable and inconvenient. As the so- 
ciety ripened into the Colonial period, however, some improve- 
ment was made. At first necessity compelled them to erect 
their houses without regard to anything but that. Log cabins 
wei'e built by almost every family, and when properly con- 
structed, were comfortable and durable. They were one story 
high, with wooden chimnies and thatched roofs. In process of 
time, as their means increased, many of them erected spacious, 
and in some instances costly houses of stone, some of which 
may still be seen in various parts of the island, but they were 
almost without exception in the Dutch style of architecture — 
long, low and massive. The kitchen, which was usually a sep- 
arate structure, but connected with, the main house, was fur- 
nished with a spacious fire-place — in some instances occupying 
one entire end of the apartment. It is said that some of these 
kitchens were furnished with doors, in front and in rear, large 
enough to allow a horse and sleigh loaded with wood, to be 
driven in at one door (the wood to be unloaded into the fire- 
place) and driven out at the opposite, but we will not pledge 
our historical veracity for the truth of the assertion. Usually 
a "back-log," of green wood, too large to be managed without 
the aid of bars and levers, was rolled into the house and placed 
against the back wall of the fire-place, then smaller materials 
were built up in front of it and ignited, and soon a bright and 
glowing fire was kindled, giving heat, and at night, light enough 
for ordinary purposes. 

The materials for these houses were abundant on almost every 
man's farm ; stones were either quarried or found on the sur- 
face ; timber grew in his own woods, where it was felled and 
dressed ; shingles were cut and split in the same place, and the 
boards and planks were sawed at some neighboring mill. Of 
these saw-mills there were several on the island ; the ruins of 
one or two of them are still to be seen. The nails were made 
by the hands of the neighboring blacksmith. Lime of the best 
quality was made by burning the shells, which were found in 



152 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

many places near the shores in large quantities, deposited there 
by the aborigines. It required much labor, and occupied much 
time to build a house of this description, but it was built to be 
occupied by generations. In the construction of houses of the 
better class, the chimneys were made of bricks imported from 
Holland, frequently as ballast, but when it was discovered that 
an article quite as good could be manufactured from American 
earth, importation ceased. Ovens were usually built outside of 
the house, and roofed over to protect them from the weather. 
The barns were low in the eaves, but very capacious, and some 
farmers had several of them, according to the size of their 
farms. 

One of the most important of a farmer's out-of-door arrange- 
ments was his hog-pen ; the number of swine which he fattened 
annually was proportioned to the number of the members of 
his family. Beside swine, every farmer fattened a "beef," and 
when the season for slaughtering came round, which was in the 
fall, after the weather had become cold, there was a busy time 
both without and within doors : what with the cutting up and 
"corning" of the meat, the labor of making sausages, head- 
cheese, rollitjes, and many other articles, even the names of 
which are now forgotten, both the males and females of the 
familj- were occupied for a fortnight or more. After the work 
of "killing time" was over, the long fall and winter evenings 
were devoted to the manufacture of candles, "moulds" and 
"dips." Every farm had its smoke-house, in which hams, 
shoulders, pieces of beef, and various other articles of diet, were 
hung to be cured with smoke. With his corned and smoked 
meats, his poultry, mutton and veal, the farmer's family was 
not without animal food the year round. Game of various 
kinds abounded in the forests for a long time, and was usually 
hunted by the younger members of the family. 

With few exceptions, the people were agriculturists, and 
their method of cultivation did not differ materially from that 
of the present day. Their implements of husbandry were 
usually brought from the old country, and, compared with 
those of the present day, were clumsy and ponderous. Prior 
to the introduction of harrows, which is of comparatively recent 
date, branches of trees were used in their stead. 

Every house was furnished with two spinning wheels: a large 
one, for the manufacture of woolen thread, and a small one for 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 153 

linen. A thorough, practical knowledge of the use of these 
instruments was deemed an indispensable part of a young 
lady's education; let her other accomplishments be what they 
might, without these she was not qualified to assume the care 
of a family. After the tliread had been spun it was dyed; 
sumach, the bark of- the black oak, chestnut, and other trees 
furnishing the materials for that purpose. Large families had 
looms of their own, with which the cloth for family use was 
woven, though there were professional weavers, whose skill was 
in demand when bed-spreads and other articles with fancy pat- 
terns were required to be made. Girls, at a very early age, 
were inducted into the mysteries of knitting, and were the re- 
cipients of many a boxed ear for " dropping stitches." Provi- 
dent families were well supplied with woolen and linen gar- 
ments, and quantities of cloth of both materials laid aside to be 
manufactured into household articles when they might be re- 
quired. The prudent housewife made it her care to provide an 
ample supply of clothing, not only for the living, but she had 
also laid aside grave clothes for the members of the household 
to be ready at hand when they might be required. 

There were itinerant tailors, who went from house to house, 
spending several days at each, making overcoats and such 
other garments as the women of the family could not make; and 
itinerant shoemakers, who, once each year, went on their circuit, 
making and repairing boots and shoes. 

People sometimes lived at great distances from each other, 
yet social intercourse was not neglected. On Sundays they met 
at church, and, both before and after service, family and neigh- 
borhood news was communicated and discussed. On court 
days the men from all parts of the county met at the county 
seat, where they talked over their agricultural exj^eriences, and 
other matters of interest. But the most cheerful of all social 
assemblages, especially for young people, took place in the 
winter when the sleighing was good; then it was that those who 
were yet unmarried sought each other's society, and met at 
Richmond to indulge in the merry dance until the waning 
hours admonished them to return to their homes. The attrac- 
tions of these meetings have proved too powerful to be entirely 
abandoned, and they are still continued by the same class in 
society. 

The early Dutch settlers on Staten Island, though not a 



154 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

literary, were a pious people ; the greater part of them were 
able to read and write, as the Dutch family Bibles, and the 
beautiful chirography in many of them testify. The Walden- 
sian and Huguenot elements which amalgamated with them, 
served to intensify their religious sentiments; indeed, it could 
not well be otherwise, for it was to enjoy the peaceful exercise 
of their religion that these latter had forsaken the homes of 
their childhood and the graves of their fathers, and cheerfully 
submitted to the inconveniences and sufferings of a life in the 
wilderness; religious duties had a claim paramount to all others, 
and long before they were able to erect churches for themselves, 
their dwellings were thrown open for the accommodation of 
their neighboi's, when the ministers from the city periodi- 
cally visited them. Tiie language of Holland was, of course, 
the first in use. The Huguenots brought their French with them, 
but as the several nationalities mingled and intermarried, it 
gradually died out, and the Dutch became the prevailing tongue 
until after the conquest, when in its turn it succumbed to the 
language of the conquerors. The Dutch, however, continued 
to be used in social intercourse and the services of the sanctuary 
for a long time after the conquest, and less than half a century 
ago its uncouth accents were still heard in some dwellings. 

The Dutch were never addicted to the observance of holidays; 
Custydt, or Christmas, and Nieuw Jaar, or New Year, were 
about the only ones of a religious character in which they in- 
dulged ; Paas, or Easter was surrendered to the children, and 
Pingster or Whitsunday to the negroes. Children liave not 
yet resigned their claim to their especial holiday in Dutch com- 
munities. Religious services were regularly held on Christmas, 
and on the first day of the New Year, on which occasion the 
newly elected church officers were formally inducted into their 
respective offices, and this ceremony was called " being married 
to the church." 

The following extract from the records shows the process 
of accomplishing marriage to satisfy the requirements of the 
law in early times : 

" Thes Are to giue notes to whome It may concarn that 
Richard Fathfall (?) and Elisabeth Larans [Lawrence] hath bin 
Publeshed A Cording to Law 

by Danill Stillwell 
on this 15th day of Oversear 

Jenewery 1682 



HISTORY OF HICHMOND COUNTY. 155 

" The A Boue [above] Mentioned Parsons Ar Mared [married] 
By Me on the 25th day of Jenewery 1682 

Richard Stillwell Jiistes 
"By order . obadiah Hulmes Clarck." 

It was a common practice ±''>r farmers to allow their stock to 
run at large in the woods and wild pastures. To provide against 
loss of stock and to avoid disputes in regard to the ownership 
of animals thus running at large two institutions of the 
period were brought into requisition. These were "pounds" 
and " ear-marks." The first record that we find of the former 
is the following decree of the Court of Sessions : 

September 6, 1720, "Ordered that a good sufRctpublick pound 
be erected and made at or near the burying place by the Dutch 
Church in the North precinct ; and Ordered Likewise that there 
be another pound erected in some convenient place at Smoaking 
point in the West precinct. Whoever will be at the charge of 
making sd. pounds shall have all profitt, accruing by pound- 
age." 

We do not know who built the pounds, or when they were 
built, or how long they were maintained. 

Ear-marks were various slits and cuts in the ears of 
cattle and sheep, and, perhaps, some other animals that were to 
be turned loose, by which they could be identified. A descrip- 
tion of the peculiar mark of each stock-owner was registered 
upon the books of the town, and the entry was generally ac- 
companied by a rude illustration of the mark. The following 
entry is an illustration of the registration : 
" March 30th Aniioq Domini 1774 

" Gilbert Tottons ear mark for his cattle & sheep &c is a slit 
in the end of both ears viz. from the tip end down towards the 
head & a half moon on the upper part of the right ear. 

Entered the day and year above written by 

" Paul Micheau Clk." 

The following figures, showing the population of the island at 
different times during the Colonial period, are arranged from 
tables in the documentary history of the province. 

Years. Men. Women. Children. Blacks. Total. 

1698 328 208 118 73 727 

1703 505 

1712 1279 



1.^6 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



White Males. White Females. 

1723 640 611 255 1506 

1731 686 827 304 1817 

1737 777 763 349 1889 

1746 856 835 382 2073 

1749 887 858 409 2154 

1756 862 805 465 2132 

1771 1150 1103 594 2847 

In 1693 the following persons were civil officers of Richmond 
County : 

Ellis Duxbury, Esq., jndge of the common Pleas. Abraham 
Cannor (Cannon), Abraham Lakeman (Lockman), Dennis The- 
nnisse and John Shadwell, justices ; John Stilwell, Esq., sheriff. 
The militia of the county consisted of two companies of foot, 
104 men in all, under the command of Capt. Andrew Cannon. 

The following are the names of civil and military officers of 
the county of Richmond for the year 1739 : 
Judges of the Court of Common Picas. Jacob Corseii, Colonel. 
John Le Conte, Judge. Christiene Corsen, Lt. Col. 

Christian Corsen, 2d Judge. Thomas Billopp, Major. 
Gozen Adrianz, 3d Judge. ^-orth Dirision. 

Nicolas Britton. Justice. John Veghte. Captain. 

Richard Stilwell, do. Frederick Eerge, Lieutenant. 

Joseph Bedell, do. Jacob Corsen, Jun., Ensign 

John Veghte, do. ^ ,. South Divhioru _ 

o 17 n 13 1 J Cornelius Stoothoff, Captain. 

Rem Vander Beek, do. j^^^^ Berge, Lieutenant. 

John Latourette, do. Aris Rvertse (Ryerss), Ensign. 

Thomas Billop, do. west Division. 

Cornelius Corsen, do. Nathaniel Britton, Captain. 

Joshna Mersereau, do. Marthias Johnson, Lieutenant. 

Abraham Cole, do. Abraham Maney (Manee), Ensign. 

Barent Martling, do. „ . -^ ■ ,^ ^?°^\ ^ <■ ■ 

T.T- ■• 1 T 7 oi a: Peter Perrin (Perine), Captain. 
Nicholas Larzelere, Sheriff. (.^^.^.^^ ^.^.^^^^^ Lieutenant. 

John Hillyer, Coroner. Wynant Wynants, Cornet. 

Daniel Corsen, Clerk. Danul Wynants, Qr. Master. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD— 1775 to 1783. 



Events Prior to the Declaration of Independence. — The Coming of Howe. — In- 
cursions and Skirmishes.— Tlie Close of the War and the Evacuation of New 
York and Staten Island. — Incidents of the Revolutionary Period. 



DURING the period of the revolution Staten Island was 
the theater of many imiiortant events. Located as it 
is so convenient to the metropolis, it became a favorite spot for 
the encampments of the British army, and was made the seat 
of much activity. Owing to this wealth of historic associations 
we shall be pardoned for devoting liberal space to the notice of 
this period. The island was not in a condition to defend itself 
against the incursions of any foe who might approach it with re- 
spectable force. As an example of the poverty of its martial 
strength shortly before the war we submit the following extract 
from the records : 

"January 6. 1770 then the Supervisars Examined into the ac- 
count of the arms that was bought for the county and Benjamin 
Semans Esq Brought in the account of What quantity Was in 
his hands, thair Was in his hands £36 — Delivered to Captain 
Wright 12 guns and 12 hangers and guns With Bagnits to Mr. 
Broons and one Gun With a bagnit to Cornoral Dongan." 

While the war clouds were gathering and the preliminary 
steps were being taken in other parts there seems to have been 
but little stir here in the direction of sustaining the cause of 
independence. The people were not unanimous in their senti- 
ments, but were probably held in check by nearly an equal di- 
vision between the cause of the colonists and the cause of the 
king. 

The geographical situation of the island gave a direction to 
the political sentiments of the people. Commanding the ap- 
proach to the metropolis and the province, whatever nation 
possessed it, took advantage of its natural facilities in a mili- 



1j)8 history of RICHMOND COUNTY. 

tary point of view. The Dutch had a battery on the heights 
of the Narrows at one time ; the English enlarged the military 
works at the same important point, and the United States have 
not failed to improve its advantages. Whoever, then, possessed 
this important point, before the revolution, to a certain extent 
might be said to possess, or at least to control the island and the 
metropolis. Whilst the English held the government of the 
province, the people naturally imbibed English sentiments ; 
freedom of opinion on political subjects, so far as the nature 
and character of the government was concerned, was not toler- 
ated. It is not to be wondered at, then, that a people who for 
more than a century had been taught to believe that it was little 
short of treason to doubt the divine origin of monarchy, and 
especially of the English monarchy, should be conscientiously 
opposed to a change which was calculated to overturn all their 
most cherished institutions. More than half of the population 
on the island, at the dawn of the revolution, were either of 
English birth or descent, and few, perhaps none, entertained 
the idea that the rebellion could by any possibility succeed, 
and even among the whigs themselves there were probably 
thousands who hoped against hope. 

Nearly all the descendants of the early Dutch settlers were 
whigs or patriots, and those of French descent were divided 
between them and the English. Many of the French having 
settled here before the conquest of the province by the English, 
had intermarried with the Dutch, who were then the dominant 
class, and had imbibed Dutch opinions, manners and customs, 
and had even fallen into the use of the Dutch language. In 
some of the families bearing French names and of French de- 
scent, at the present day, are to be found family records, such 
as they are, written in the Dutch language. There was, how- 
ever, another and more marked difference between the people 
of the several nationalities than mere political sentiments and 
opinions ; the Dutch were imbued with a deep religious feel- 
ing ; they were not generally as well educated as the English, 
but they could read and write, and keep their own accounts ; 
the English had their religion, too, but they were more formal 
and less earnest and devoted than their neighbors ; the French 
in this, as in other respects, accommodated their religion to 
that of the class with which they had amalgamated. The whig 
cause throughout the country was calculated to foster religious 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 159 

euthublasni, for, being conscious of their own weakness as com- 
pared with the mighty power and resources of Great Britain, 
they naturally looked to a higher power than that of man to 
sustain them in what they conscientiously believed to be the 
cause of right. 

In February, 1775, this county was represented in the colonial 
assembly by Christopher Billop and Benjamin Seaman. When, 
on the 2ad of the month, a motion was before the house " that 
the sense of this House be taken, on the Necessity of appoint- 
ing Delegates for this Colony, to meet the Delegates for the 
other Colonies on this Continent, in General Congress, on the 
10th Day of May next," these representatives of Richmond 
voted in the negative. 

That bad blood was being stirred up here and in the immedi- 
ate vicinity thus early, is shown by the following affray which 
took place in Elizabethtown about the time of which we have 
just spoken. 

On the 8th of February, about noon, a Staten Island man was 
approaching the shore at Elizabethtown, when a party of men 
seized his boat, which was loaded with oysters, and forcibly 
dragged it up into the street and then distributed the oysters 
among themselves with an unceremonious and peremptory hand. 
The cause appears to have been that the owner of the boat was 
supposed to be one of a party of men from " that ever loyal 
Island," as a tory paper describes Staten Island, who had as- 
sisted in violating the order of congress prohibiting the impor- 
tation of goods after the first of February of that year. The 
man was James Johnson, of Richmond county, and he applied 
to a justice of the peace, who advised him to remain quiet for 
a few hours until the riotous collection of people who were then 
in the street had become more cool, which he did, and the re- 
sult of this caution was the aversion of any further violence. 
Though this affair was of but small magnitude yet it served as 
an occasion for ^'■Bh^inf/ton^ s Gazette,'" the leading loyal paper of 
the time in New York, to set forth an exaggerated account of 
the disorderly and lawless character of the whigs. 

The people of the island assembled on the 11th of April fol- 
lowing, to take action in regard to sending delegates to the 
provincial congress which was to convene in New York soon 
after. The report says that the result was almost unanimously 
against sending delegates. 'J'he whigs must have improved 



160 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

some later opportunity for gaining a representation, for when 
the congress convened, on the 22d of May following, we find 
Richmond county was represented by Paul Micheau, John 
Journey, Col. Aaron Cortelyou, Richard Conner and Major 
Richard Lawrence. 

The strong tory sentiment on the island made association with 
the people here undesirable to the people of New Jersey at 
Elizabethtown. The committee at the latter place had refused 
to allow commerce between the two places to be carried on. 
We have seen the result of a disregard of that restiiction, in 
the riot of the preceding February. The committee seem to 
have relented, however, for on July 17th they passed the fol- 
lowing order, Jonathan Hampton, a prominent "rebel" being 
then chairman. 

" The Chairman of this Committee having received a letter 
from Mr. Richard Lawrence, a Delegate of Richmond county 
for the Provincial Congress of the colony of New York, in- 
forming that the inhabitants of said county had, in general, 
signed the Association recommended by the Committee of New 
York. This Committee are therefore of opinion that the in- 
habitants of said county be restored to their commercial privi- 
leges with the inhabitants of this town." 

September 1, 1775, David Burger, of New York, sent a letter 
to the congress complaining that sundry persons in Richmond 
county had supplied a transport with live stock, and the matter 
was referred to the members of that county to make inquiry on 
the subject. 

On the 1st of December, 1775, Paul Micheau, one of the depu- 
ties from Richmond county in the first provincial congress, ad- 
dressed a letter to the secretary of the congress, in which he 
says that he had requested the county committee to convene 
the people to elect new deputies ; that a meeting of the com- 
mittee had been called, and that only a minority appeared, 
who for that reason declined to act, and requests congress to 
write to them and learn their reasons for not convening the 
people, and concludes by hoping the congress may be able to 
keep tranquility and good order in the province, and make 
peace with the mother country. He then gave the names of 
the committee as follows: Capt. John Kittletas, Capt. Christian 
Jacobson, Capt. Cornelias Dussosway, Henry Perine, David 
Latourette, Esq., Peter Mei'sereau, John Poillon, Moses Depuy, 



HISTORY OF rjCIIMOND COUNTY. 161 

Lambert Merrill, John Tysen, Josepli Christopher, George Bar- 
rus and David Corsen. 

To this comniunication congress replied the next day in a let- 
ter addressed to "John Poillon, John Tysen and Lambert Mer- 
ril, of the committee for Ricliraond County," urging them to 
elect deputies to represent them without delay, and they added 
emphatically, "rest assured, gentlemen, that the neighboring- 
colonies will not remain inactive spectators if you show a dis- 
position to depart from the Continental Union." They con- 
cluded their letter in these words : "We beg, gentlemen, you 
will consider this matter with that seriousness which the peace, 
good order and liberties of your county require." 

To this the committee made the following reply: 

"Richmond County, Dec'r 15th, 1775. 
Mr. President: 

Sir: — Your favour of 2d Decem'r. we hereby acknowledge 
came safe to our hand, and with the majority of our committee 
considered the contents. We, agreeable to your request, have 
caused by advertisement the freeholders and inhabitants in our 
county to be convened on this day, in order that their sense 
might be taken whether they will choose deputies to represent 
them in a provincial congress or not. Accordingly, a number 
of the said freeholders and inhabitants did appear ; a regular 
poll was opeuf-d, and continued till 6 o'clock; at the conclusion 
of which it appeared that a majority vvas, for the i^resent, for 
sending no deputies. Our former conduct in sending of depu- 
ties to represent us in Provincial Congress, was elevated with 
encouraging hopes of having, ere this, obtained the so much 
desired point in our view, namely, a reconciliation with Great 
Britain. But, with anxiety we express it, that the hopes of 
obtaining so desirable an event, is now almost vanished out of 
our sight ; and, instead of which, we behold with horror, every 
appearance of destruction, that a war with Great Britain will 
bring upon us. Under these apprehensions, and in our particu- 
lar situation, we hope you will view us, and when candidly con- 
sidered, we trust will furnish yon with sufficient reason, for the 
present, to forbear with us. 

"We wish and pray that if yet any hojae of reconciliation is 
11 



162 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

left, that measures might be adopted, if possible, to obtain that 
desirable end, in wishing of which we conclude ourselves. 
Your most obt. 

And most humble serv'ts, 
John Tyson, 
Christian Jacobson, 
Daniel Corsen, 
Peter Mersereau, 
Joseph Christopher, 
Lambert Merrill, 
John Poillon. 
To Nath'l AVoodhull, 

Prest. of Provl. Congress, New York. 
"P. S. — Should the congress think it necessary for further in- 
formation of the state of our county, they will please to order 
two of our committee to appear before them for that purpose." 
On the 21st, congress passed several resolutions, censuring 
Richmond county for its delinquency, and resolved that if 
within fifteen days a list of the names of those who oppose a 
representation in congress be not sent to that body, the whole 
county shall be considered delinquent, and entirely put out of 
the protection of congress, and that intercourse with them shall 
be interdicted, and that the names of delinquents shall be pub- 
lished in all the newspapers of the colony. 

During the recess of the congress, the committee of safety 
was in session. On the 12th of January, 1776, Richard Law- 
rence and Christian Jacobson appeared before the committee 
and represented that the majority of the people of Richmond 
county were not averse, but friendly to the measures of con- 
gress ; Lawrence was a member of the committee for Richmond 
county. 

On the 23d of the same month the following letter was le- 
ceived by the committee of safety from the Richmond county 
committee. 

"Richmond County, Jan'y 19, 1776. 
^'■Gentlemen — Whereas the committee for this county have 
caused by advertisement the freeholders to be convened on this 
day, in order to elect two members to represent this county in 
Provincial Congress ; accordingly a poll was opened for that 
purpose, without any opposition, at the close of which it ap- 
peared by a majority, that Messrs Adrian Banker and Richard 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 163 

Lawrence was duly elected to represent this county in Provin- 
cial Congress until the second Tuesday in May next, which we 
hope will be agreeable to the rest of that body. 
We are, gentlemen. 

Your mo. obt. and most humble servts. 

Christian Jaoobson, 
Lambert Merrill, 
John Tyson, 
Peter Mersereau, 
George Barnes, 
Moses Dupuy, 
David Latourette, 
Daniel Corsen, 
Henry Perine, 
Joseph Christopher. 

" To the Committee of Safety on recess 
of the Provincial Congress in New York." 

The reputation of Richmond county for its want of sympathy 
in the cause of the colonies seems to have gained more than a 
local hearing. It reached the ears of the continental congress, 
and that body made it the subject of action, as shown by the 
following extract from the minutes : 

"In Congress, Feb'y8th, 1776. 

"The inhabitants of Richmond county, in the Colony of New 
York, having refused to send Deputies to represent them in 
Provincial Convention, and otherwise manifested their enmity 
and opposition to the system and measures adopted for pre- 
serving the liberties of America ; and as a Just punishment for 
their inimical conduct, the inhabitants of that Colony having 
been prohibited by the Convention from all intercourse and 
dealings with the inhabitants of the said county ; and this 
Congress being informed by the Committee of Safety of that 
Colony, that the freeholders of the said county did afterwards, 
without any opposition, elect Deputies to represent them in 
Provincial Convention ; but as the proceedings against them 
had been submitted to the consideration of Congress, it was ap- 
prehended Deputies would not be received until the sense of 
Congress should be communicated. 

"■Resolved, That it be referred to the said Provincial Conven- 
tion to take such measures respecting the admission of the 
Deputies, and revoking the interdict on the inhabitants of the 



164 lIISTOItY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

said county, as they shall judf?e most expedient, provided that 
the said Deputies and major i:)art of the inhabitants of said 
county shall subscribe the association entered into by that 
Colony. 

"Extract from the minutes. 

Chas. Thompson, Sec'y." 

It was then ordered by the provincial congress that the reso- 
lution of the continental congress be transmitted to the deputies 
lately elected by the people of Richmond county. 

The congress being apprehensive that General Clinton would 
attempt to land upon Staten Island for the purpose of making 
depredations and carrying off live stock, had requested the pro- 
vincial congress of New Jersey to send Colonel Herd, with his 
regiment, to the island to prevent it, and lest he might not get 
there in time, a like request was made to the committee of 
Elizabethtown. This measure excited the apprehensions of 
the people of Staten Island, who were suspicious of the errand 
of Colonel Herd and his regiment. Accordingly, on the 19th of 
February, the two deputies, Adrian Bancker and Richard Law- 
rence, hastened to inform the congress that they had subscribed 
to the association entered into by the colony, and that seven 
eighths of the people had done so likewise "long since," and 
that the coming of Colonel Herd, "with a large body of men, to 
call the people to account for their inimical conduct," just then 
when many of the people were coming into the measures, and 
the cause gaining ground daily, would have an injurious effect, 
and they suggest that the stopping of the New Jersey forces 
would quiet the minds of the people. On the same day con- 
gress replied and assured the deputies that Colonel Herd's er- 
rand to the island did not in any manner relate to the people of 
the county, except to protect their property, and that a counter 
request had been forwarded to New Jersey. The two deputies 
were requested to attend the congress and to bring with them 
the proof that the majoritj^ of the people had subscribed to the 
association, to enable them to take their seats. 

The committee of Elizabethtown had caused the apprehension 
and imprisonment at that place, of Isaac Decker, Abraham Har- 
ris and Miune Burger, and had held Richard Conner, Esq., 
under bonds to appear before them, upon charges not specified. 
The congress of New York entered into a correspondence with 
I he committee of that place, and requested them to send the 



HISTORY OF RICHSrOND COUNTY. 165 

delinquents to the county where they belonged, to be tried by 
the county committee. The committee of Richmond were also 
informed of the action of the congress, and were instructed to 
try the delinquents and mete out to them impartial justice, and 
report to congress. On the 23d of February, Mr. Adrian 
Bancker's name appears among those of the members of the 
congress. On the 28th of February, Decker and Burger were 
returned to their own county, and the charges against them 
and Richard Conner were also transmitted to the committee of 
Richmond. Nothing is said of Harris. 

The committee of Elizabethtown, at the time of surrendering 
them, disclaimed all knowledge of their offenses, but intimated 
that they had been arrested by Colonel Herd, at the instance 
of either the New York or the continental congress. 

The proposed expedition of Colonel Herd to Staten Island to 
protect the live stock there, originated with General Lee. Hav- 
ing communicated his apprehensions to the committee of safety, 
that body, on the 10th of February, 1776, addressed a letter to 
the provincial congress of New Jersey, in which they say : "The 
entrance of Genl. Clinton into our jiort on pretence of merely 
paying a visit to Govr. Tryon, though he has been followed by 
a transport with troops, which we have good reason to believe 
are only a part of 600 that embarked with him at Boston, rend- 
ers it highly probable that some lodgement of troops was in- 
tended to be made in or near this city ; " and as no troops from 
New York could be spared from its defense, and as Colonel 
Herd's regiment was so near Staten Island, General Lee deemed 
it proper that he should be sent over for its protection. The 
next day the committee addressed another letter to the same 
convention, informing tlieiii that the "Mercury," ship of war, 
with two transports under her convoy, had left the port, and 
anchored near Staten Island, and expressed their fears that the 
Colonel would arrive too late. In reply, the New Jersey con- 
gress informed the committee on the 12th that Colonel Herd, 
with seven hundred men, had been ordered to march immedi- 
ately to Staten Island. On the 17th, congress expressed their 
thanks to Colonel Herd for his alacrity in their service, but as 
the danger had now passed (probably by the departure of the 
ships) his services would not be required. 

On the 8th of March, Hendric Garrison, of Richmond county, 
forwarded a complaint to the congress, that while he was attend- 



166 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

ing as a witness before the committee of said county, and while 
under examination, the said committee permitted the defend- 
ants, Cornelius Martino, Richard Conner and John Burbank, to 
insult and abuse him, and he asked the protection of congress, 
as he considered his person and property unsafe. Lord Stirling, 
as commander of the continental troops in New York, issued a 
warrant to apprehend John James Boyd, of Richmond county, 
and to have him brought before the congress. Captain John 
AVarner, to whom the warrant was delivered for e.xecution, laid 
it before that body on the 14th of March, when it was consid- 
ered and decided that the said Boyd was so unimportant and in- 
significant a person as not to deserve the trouble and expense of 
apprehending him. Boyd resented this depreciation of his im- 
portance, and on the 21st sent a note to the committee of safety 
claiming to be "a steady and warm friend to his countrj^," and 
pronounced any accusation against him unfounded. 

On the 1st of Api-il, 1776, Christian Jacobson, as the chairman 
of the county committee, reported the organization of four 
companies of militia in the county, the officers of which were 
oi'dered to be duly commissioned. On the 3d of April Mr. Law- 
rence, a member from Richmond, reported that the county was 
already furnished with fourteen good flats or scows, which were 
sufficient for the removal of the stock from the island, and that 
the building of two more, as previously ordered, would be a use- 
less expense. These scows, or flats, were held in readiness to re- 
move the cattle to New Jersey, if the English ships of war on 
the coast should attempt to seize them, as they had done in 
several other jjlaces. 

On the 12th of April, Lord Stirling informed the committee 
of safety that he had General Putnam's orders to march with a 
brigade of troops for Staten Island, and that he would be under 
the necessity of quartering the soldiers in the farm-houses for 
the present ; he requests the people to be notified of the fact, 
so that they might prepare quarters most convenient to them- 
selves, and to be assured that he would make the residence of 
the troops as little burdensome as possible. The committee of 
Richmond were requested to prepare empty farm-houses, barns, 
etc., for the reception of the soldiers, and to use their " influence 
with the inhabitants to consider the soldiers as their country- 
men and fellow citizens employed in the defence of the liberties 
of their country in general, and of the inhabitants of Richmond 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 167 

county in particular, and, endeavour to accommodate them ac- 
cordingly." 

The question has been raised as to whether or not General 
Washington was ever on Staten Island in person. To this 
question Mr. Chite, the historian of Staten Island, has sug- 
gested the following considerations : 

"The only evidence of the fact which is attainable at this day 
is contained in the extract from his carefully kept accounts with 
the government of the United States, which we here present. 
" 1776. 

Ap^- 2.5th, To the Exps of myself and party reccte 

the sev' landing places on Staten Island £16 10 0." 

" It may be said that the reconnoitering, which is almost un- 
intelligibly abbreviated in the original account, might have been 
done on the water, and quite as efficiently as on the land. The 
following objections, however, exist to this view of the subject : 

" First. — The object of Washington was to erect fortifications 
and other defences on the most eligible sites, as the British did 
when they took possession on the following July ; and some 
parts of the shores — perhaps the most important — could not be 
examined with such an object in view, from any position at- 
tainable on the water. 

" Second. — The Commander-in-Chief expresses himself in the 
above extracts, in terms similar to those used in other parts of 
his accounts for similar services in places not accessible by 
water, and 

" Third. — There were two or three British vessels of-war lying 
near the Island, on on« of which Governor Tryon had taken up 
his quarters, and from which he kept up an intercourse with 
royalists on the Island, and a reconnoitering of the shores by 
water would not have been jjermitted, to say nothing of the 
danger of capture." 

Whether he came here and travelled over the land himself or 
not, certain it was that General Washington had his attention 
drawn to this spot, and regarded Staten Island with more than 
ordinary concern. There were two points of importance which 
called for his attention ; the sentiments of the people, and the 
peculiar geographical position of the island. The action of 
congress having somewhat modified the former, it was to the 
latter that he gave most of his care. 

Lying between the ocean and the metropolis, and on the high- 



168 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTT. 

way from the one to the other, Staten Island, early in the war, 
was regarded as an important location in a military point of 
view. Its importance was enhanced by the fact that it was 
situated in a bay more than half surrounded by the main land 
of New Jersey, and commanded not only a great part of Long 
Island but New York city, and a large extent of country em- 
bracing nearly all the northern part of New Jersey; the posses- 
sion of it therefore became a matter of importance to both 
belligerents. Washington was as prompt to perceive the 
natural advantages of Staten Island in a military point of view 
as were the British. Within a week after his personal visit to 
the city, he established a look-out at the Narrows, which, when 
the British made their appearance, sent a message by express 
that forty of the enemy's vessels were in sight. This informa- 
tion was at once forwarded to the several posts on the Hudson, 
with instructions to prepare to give them a warm reception if 
they should attempt to ascend the river. But the ships, upon 
their arrival, anchored off Staten Island, and landed their 
trooi^s, and the hillsides were soon covered with their white 
tents. Military works were at once erected upon every avail- 
able point, thus intimating their intention of taking a perma- 
nent possession. 

The opinion wliich Washington had formed of the people of 
Staten Island, as well as of their immediate neighbors at Am- 
boy, may be learned from the following extract from one of his 
lettei's: "The known disaffection of the people of Amboy, and 
the treachery of those of Staten Island, who, after the fairest 
professions, have shown themselves our inveterate enemies, 
have induced me to give directions that all persons of known 
enmity and doubtful character should be removed from these 
places." 

On the 2d of May, Mr. Garrison (Hendric), chairman of the 
county committee, was present at the meeting of the committee 
of safety, and inquired whether the people would be jsaid for 
lire-wood furnished to the trooj)s in Richmond county, and for 
their labor in preparing the guard house, at the i-equestof Lord 
Stirling, and was referred to Colonel Mifflin. Hence, we infer 
that some of Lord Stirling's trooi)s had taken up their quarters 
on the island. 

On the 6th of May, General Washington wrote to the com- 
mittee of safety, informing them that Peler Poillon, of Rich- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 169 

mond county, had been arrested for supplying the king's ships 
witli provisions. On the 8th, Poillon was brought before the 
committee and examined. He did not deny the charge, but 
pleaded in e.xtenuation that the regulations for preventing in- 
tercourse with the king's ships had not been published in Rich- 
mond county until the 2d or 3d of that month, and that there- 
fore he was ignorant of them; he stated farther, that he left 
home with a considerable sum of money to discharge a debt 
in Kings county, together with some articles of provision for 
New York market of the value of about three pounds; that 
while passing the ship of war "Asia," at as great a distance as 
he safely could, he was tired at and could not escape; he proved 
further, by rejiutable witnesses, tliat he was a respectable man, 
and had always been esteemed a friend to the liberties of his 
country. He was discharged with a caution hereafter to keep 
at a safe distance from the king's ship, and to warn his fellow 
citizens of Richmond county to do the same. 

May 18th 1776, a certificate signed by Christian Jacobson, 
chairman of the Richmond county committee, dated Aj^ril 22d, 
1776, was presented to the provincial congress, and attested bj'^ 
Isi-ael D. Bedell, clerk, and directed to Paul Micheau, Richard 
Conner, Aaron Cortelyou and John Journey, was read and filed, 
whereby it appeared that these gentlemen had been elected to 
represent Richmond county in that body, with power to any 
two of them to meet to constitute a quorum, the second 
Tuesday of May, 1777. 

On the 5th of June, 1776, congress issued an order for the 
arrest of a number of persons in several counties who were in- 
imical to the cause of America; those from Richmond county 
were Isaac Decker, Abm. Harris, Ephm. Taylor and Minne 
Burger. They also ordered that several persons who held office 
under the king should be summoned to appear before the con- 
gress, and among them are found the names of Benjamin Sea- 
man and Christopher Billop, of Richmond. 

There is nothing in the "Journal of the Congress" to show 
that these orders and resolutions were ever carried into effect. 

During the early part of the year 1770 the popular feeling in 
the colonies had become so much aroused that the officers of the 
king were obliged in many cases to use considerable caution in 
order to save their own persons from violence. William Tryon, 
the last of the royal governors, had indeed retired from the city 



170 HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

of New York, and taken his position on board the ship 
" Halifax," during the previous autumn, and there lie wrote to 
Mayor Whitehead Hicks, of New York, October 19, as follows: 

" Sir, 

" Finding your letter of yesterday insufficient for the secur- 
ity I requested from the Corporation and Citizens, and objec- 
tionable for the mode in which you obtained the sense of the 
inhabitants, my duty directed me for the present instant to re- 
move on board this ship; where I shall be ready to do such 
business of the country, as the situation of the times will per- 
mit. The citizens, as well as the inhabitants of the province, 
may be assured of my inclination to embrace every means in 
my power to restore the peace, good order, and authority of gov- 
ernment. 

" I am, Sir, 

" Your most obedient servant, 

William Tryon." 

In January, 1776, General Clinton having been sent by Howe 
on an expedition along the Atlantic coast, while on his way 
from Boston to Virginia, came to anchor at Sandy Hook and 
had an interview with Tryon and other friends of the king who 
had been obliged to take shelter in vessels, after which they 
went on their way southward. Howe, with his army, about 
12,000 strong, evacuated Boston March 17th, and falling back to 
Halifax awaited with the fleet the arrival of his brother with 
reinforcements from England. Becoming impatient of delay 
he made ready and sailed from that place for the expected seat 
of war at New York on the 12th of June, and arrived off Sandy 
Hook on the 25th. Here he waited for the arrival of the Heet, 
which came up on the 29th. Admiral Lord Howe, with part of 
the reinforcements from England, arrived at Halifax soon after 
his brother's departure, but without dropping anchor he fol- 
lowed and joined him here. The British general, on his ap- 
proach, found every part of New York island, and the most 
exposed parts of Long Island fortified and well defended by ar- 
tillery. Finding Staten Island had not been so well fortified for 
protection the fleet anchored near here and it was determin ed 
to make use of this spot for a rendezvous while awaiting the 
arrival of other forces and the completion of arrangements for 
penetrating into the country and maturing any other plans for 
action. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 171 

On the 3d of July the fleet moved np to the Narrows, and 
the grenadiers and light infantry were landed under cover of 
the frigates and sloops of war. General Howe declared this was 
done " to the great joy of a most loyal people, long suffering 
on that account under the oppression of the rebels stationed 
among them, who precipitately lied on the approach of the 
shipping." The remainder of the army were landed in the 
course of the day, and the whole were distributed in canton- 
ments, where they found the best refreshments. The headquar- 
ters were at Richmond. The landing of the troops was made 
in a very orderly manner, under the direction of Captains Ray- 
nor, of the ship "Chatham," and Curtis, of the ship "Sene- 
gal," and to the entire satisfaction of General Howe. As the 
Americans were strongly posted and in great force, both on Long 
Island and at New York, having upwards of a hundred cannon 
for defending the city, Howe resolved to defer his scheme of 
ascending the North river, and to remain in his present position 
until he should be joined by Clinton and the expected reinforce- 
ments from England. The latter arrived at Staten Island on the 
12th of July, and Lord Howe assumed the command of the 
fleet on the American station The fleet numbered one hundred 
and thirteen ?ail and they lay in a line e.x'tending from the 
mouth of the Kill von KuU to Simonson s ferry at the Narrows. 
As they were coming in, the "Asia," which brought up the rear 
of the fleet, was fired at from a small battery on Long Island 
commanding the Narrows. The fire was returned by about forty 
24-pounders, one of which lodged in. the wall of a private house 
there. Another shot struck the house of Mr. Denyse Denyse 
afterward of Staten Island, wounding a negro servant in the 
foot and narrowly missing the kitchen, where a number of 
the family were at work. A second shot struck the barn on the 
same place, and a third destroyed much of the garden fence 
opposite the front door of the mansion house. This is said to 
have been the first blood shed in this quarter in the war. 

The following items from the '■'■ PeiinsyUania Journal'''' of 
July 10, 1776, are of interest in this connection. 

" As soon as the troops landed they paraded the North Shore, 
and on Wednesday morning made their appearance near Eliza- 
beth-Town Point; but the country being soon alarmed, they 
retreated, took up the floor of the draw-bridge in the salt 
meadows, and immediately threw up some works. 



172 HISTORV OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

"Their near approach to Elizabeth-Town Point greatly 
alarmed the inhabitants of Essex county, and particularly the 
lieople of Elizabeth-Town and Newark, but they are now in a 
condition to receive them whenever they may think proper to 
approach. 

"Two young men from Elizabeth-Town crossed the river in a 
canoe last Thursday, and fired upon the Regulars ; but a num- 
ber of them rushing out of the woods, they were obliged to 
retreat and cross the river again. 

"A sloop of twelve six jjonnders, belonging to the fleet from 
Halifax, laying in the Kills, near Mr. Decker's ferry, was almost 
torn to pieces last AVednesday morning, by a party under the 
command of General Herd, from the opposite shore, with two 
18-pounders. The crew soon abandoned the sloop, and we sup- 
pose she is rendered entirely unfit for any further service. 

" We hear two men of war now laj' near Amboy, in order 'tis 
supposed, to stop all navigation that way." 

Lord Howe and General Howe, having thus established their 
trooi)s and naval forces upon and around Staten Island, issued 
a proclamation on the 14th of July, inviting all persons to return 
to their allegiance to the king. Their combined forces were 
estimated at about 24,000 men, though onl_y a part of them were 
encamped on the island. The number of tlie latter has been 
variously estimated at from nine to fifteen thousand men. 

Let us now turn aside from the field of active movements to 
notice the deliberations of the parliamentary head of govern- 
ment. On the 9th of July the provincial congress convened at 
the courthouse in White Plains, Westchester county; the 
British then having taken possession of Staten Island, there 
were no deputies from Richmond county in attendance. At 
this meeting the declaration of independence was received and 
read ; it was also reported that the British had taken posses- 
sion of Staten Island without opposition, and detachments had 
advanced toward Bergen Point and Elizabethtown. The declar- 
ation having been read, it was unanimously adopted, and the 
congress passed a resolution to support the same, "at the risk 
of our lives and fortunes.'' It was thus ordered to be published. 
It was then " Resolved and Ordered, that the style or title of 
this house be changed from that of the ' Provincial Congress 
of the Colony of JVew York,' to that of 'The Convention of the 
Representatives of the State of K"ew York.' " 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 173 

The convention recognized the impracticablity of electing 
senators and members of assembly in the southern district of 
the state, Westchester excepted, and as it was reasonable and 
right that the people of that district should be entitled to i-ep- 
resentation in legislation, they proceeded to appoint these of- 
ficers ; and for the county of Richmond, Josliua Mersereau and 
Abm. Jones were appointed ; the latter was subsequently de- 
nied his seat, on account of his sympathy for the enemy. 

After this the county does not appear to have been repre- 
sented in the legislatui-e of the colony or state for a long time. 
There were representatives who were entitled to their seats, but 
they were not permitted to leave the island. Communication 
with the main land, or with New York, or Long Island, was 
prohibited, except by permission, and consequently in th« suc- 
ceeding sessions of the legislature the name of a representative 
from Richmond does not appear. 

The first object to engage the attention of General Howe was 
the conciliation of the American loyalists, and, to this end, he 
had numerous interviews with Governor Tryon and other 
prominent individuals in New York and New Jersey, all of 
whom led him to believe that large numbers of the people 
were anxious to flock to his standard the moment it was un- 
furled. Delancey, of New York, and Skinner, of Perth Am- 
boy, were made brigadier-generals, and Billop, of Staten 
Island, colonel, of the native loyalists or tories. Proclama- 
tions were issued promising protection to the people so long 
as they remained peaceably at home and manifested no sym- 
pathy for the rebels or their cause Misled by the specious 
promises which Howe had promulgated, hundreds of the whig 
inhabitants of Staten Island remained peaceably at home to 
reap the fruits of their credulity in having soldiers quartered 
upon them — in enduring, submis-sively, the insults and out- 
rages committed upon themselves and families, their houses 
and barns openly and defiantly plundered, their cattle driven 
away or wantonly killed, their churches burned, and, not in- 
frequently, some of their own number barbarously, and with- 
out provocation, murdered. 

There were some, however, who had no faith in the protesta- 
tions of the British commander, and also had too much man- 
hood to conceal their sentiments; to these the political atmos- 
phere of the island was decidedly unhealthy, and they had to 



174 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

escape for their lives. Among them was .Colonel Jacob Merse- 
reau. He was the son of Joshua Mei'serean and Maria Corsen. 
He was baptized May 24th, 1730, and died in September, 1804, 
in the 75th year of his age. He resided in the old stone house 
in Northfield, not far from Graniteville, since occupied by his 
son, Hon. Peter Mersereau. Soon after the beginning of the 
war he became apprehensive for his personal safety and fled to 
New Jersey. During his protracted residence there, he made 
occasional stealtliy visits to his family by night, and on one of 
these occasions had a very narrow escape from capture. Hav- 
ing crossed the sound, and concealed his boat, he took his 
course for home across fields, avoiding the public roads as 
much as possible. While crossing a road he was met by a 
young man by whom he wap recognized at once. There was no 
British post just then nearer thwn Richmond, and thither the 
young tory hastened to inform the commanding officer of his 
discovery. Preparations were made immediately to effect the 
arrest of the colonel, but it was near daylight in the morning 
before the party set out. The family had arisen early, but they 
did not discover the soldiers until they were within a few rods 
of the house. The alarm was immediately given, which, being 
perceived by the approaching party, a rush was made, and as 
they reached the door the colonel sprang out of the upper 
northwest window of the house upon a shed beneath it, and 
thence to the ground. He was discovered before he had gone 
far, and at once pursued. Crouching on " all-fours " behind a 
hedge to keep himself out of sight, he reached a swamp in the 
middle of which he found a place of concealment. The swamp 
was discovered, and it was at once concluded that he was there 
concealed, but as the pursuers were ignorant of its intricacies, 
they could proceed no further. Dogs were then put on the 
track, which they followed to the edge of the swamp, where 
they chanced to scent a rabbit, and away they went in pursuit 
of the new game. Here the pursuit terminated, and the colonel, 
after remaining concealed the whole day, escai^ed during the 
following night to ISTew Jersey. For a week thereafter a close 
watch was kept on the house by day and by night. 

When the British took possession of Staten Island, they im- 
mediately threw up strong intrenchments. Sinicoe says : 

"In the distribution of quarters for the remaining winter, 
Richmond was allotted to the Queen's Rangers. This post was 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COTJXTY. 175 

in the center of the island, and consisted of three bad redoubts, 
so contracted, at various times and in such a manner, as to be 
of little mutual assistance ; the spaces between these redoubts 
had been occupied by the huts of the troops, wretchedly made 
of mud ;" these Lieut. Col. Simcoe had thrown down, and his 
purpose was to build ranges of log houses, which might join 
the redoubts, and being loop-holed, might become a very de- 
fensible curtain. Other fortifications were erected in other parts 
of the island — one at Xew Brighton, on the height now known 
as Fort Hill, which commanded the entrance to the Kills ; 
another was built at the Narrows, near the site of the present 
national fortifications, and in several other places. Many rem- 
nants of British occupancy have been found in and around 
these old fortifications, such as cannon balls, bullets, gun 
locks, etc. 

t^kirraishing between the forces on Staten Island and the 
Americans on the Jersey shore was of frequent occurrence. A 
considerable cannonading took place between the forces at 
Perth Amboy and batteries of the British on the Staten Island 
shore on the 2ot.h of July. This was occasioned by the firing 
of the former upon four or five shallops as they were coming 
down the sound. The account continues : 

" Captain Moulder, with his two field pieces, was ordered to 
the shore (Perth Amboy), but being encamped at some distrnce, 
before he could come up the shallops had all nearly past, how- 
ever, he began a well directed fire, and though the y had got to 
a considerable distance, hulled one of them. 

" When the vessels were past, the firing ceased on both sides. 
We had the misfortune of loosing one of the Second battalion, 
and having another wounded. * * * * There was a horse 
killed which was standing in a waggon near theG-eneral's door. 
The enemy appear to have some very heavy field pieces. They 
sent some 12-pounders among us. It is surprising they did not 
do more execution, as there were so many of our people on the 
bank opposite to them without the least covering. 

" The enemy appear to be very strong, and are constantly re- 
inforcing, as our troops come in. They are throwing up breast- 
works along the shore to prevent our landing." 

Major Turner Staubenzee was commander of the Second bat- 
talion of light infantry on the island. He employed a stout 
negro, who happened to fall into his hands, to carry a note to 



176 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

another officer. Tlie negro on his way decided to change his 
course and, tnrning aside, escaped beyond the lines, and fled to 
the city, where he delivered the note to the Americans. It ran 
as follows . 

"Dear Stanton: 
"The bearer I have sent you, thinking him a strong able fel- 
low, and fit to cut throats ; so if j^ou approve him, keep him in 

your corps. 

" Yours, &c. 

" T. Staubenzee." 

By the end of July the American posts opposite the island 
were well secured. Above five thousand troops were distributed 
at the different stations from JN'ewark bay down the sound to 
South Amboy, while the headquarters were at Amboy city, the 
strongest point of the line. The strength of the British was 
unknown to them, but believed to be about ten thousand. The 
latter had sentinels all along the shore of the island on the 
north and west sides, and the houses and barns of the inhabi- 
tants were occupied by the troops. It was also supposed that 
a considerable encampment was established behind the low 
bluff at Tottenville, and one account of the engagement on the 
2oth says that "in less than half an hour after our fire on the 
shallops began, a large body were seen coming over that hill." 
The British evidently were ignoraat of the numbers of the 
Americans on the opposite shore, and regarded it as necessary 
to fortify against an expected attack from the forces which in 
reality were not moi"e than one third the strength of their own. 
They had concealed guns — six, eight and twelve pounders — 
planted along the shore in different places. 

The waters of the lower bay presented a scene of considerable 
activity at that time, from the frequent going out and returning 
of men-of-war and transports belonging to tlie fleet which occu- 
pied the inner bay. Additional numbers of vessels joined the 
fleet at different times, and transports were bringing provisions 
and supplies. 

The capture of the city of New York was the immediately de- 
sirable thing to General Howe, and an attack upon some other 
point, by which a flank movement could be effected, and the 
city approached by more accessible means than a direct attack, 
was expected. Long Island and the Jersey shore both stood in 
suspense, ready to take alarm at the first movements of the 



HISTORY OF KICIIMOND COUNTY. 177 

British in either direction. About the 8th of August deserters 
from the fleet carried the news to the Americans that Howe was 
taking' liis field i:)ieces on board and preparing for an attack by 
land and water simultaneously upon Long Island and the city. 
On the other side the people of Elizabethtown were about the 
same time aroused by an alarm that the regulars were about to 
make an immediate attack upon that point. Every man capa- 
ble of bearing arms was summoned to defend it. As three or 
four young men were going out from one family, an elderly 
lady, their mother or grandmother, after assisting them to 
arm, said to them : "My children, you are going out in a just 
cause — to fight for the rights and liberties of your countrj- ; 
you have my blessing and prayers, that God will pi-otect and 
assist you, but if you fall, His will be done. Let me beg of 
you, my children, that if you fall, it may be like men, and that 
your wounds may not be in your back parts." These alarms, 
however, appear to have been without important results until 
the latter part of the month. 

In the meantime the forces of Howe were strengthened by 
the arrival at Staten Island of the fleet which returned from 
South Carolina undei' Clinton and Cornwallis in the early part 
of the month, and the first and second divisions of foreign 
troops which arrived in the Lower bay on the 12tl]. The fleet 
which brought the latter numbered about one hundred and ten 
sail of vessels, on board of which were eight thousand Hessians 
and Waldeckers and a few English guards. These were sent 
into camp on Staten Island. Estimates of the numbers on 
Staten Island at this time make them to be about twenty-two 
thousand men. The naval forces were accommodated on board 
the ships " Asia "' and " Eagle," each carrying sixty-four guns, 
and the "Roebuck" and "Phoenix," of forty-four guns each, 
about twenty frigates and sloops of war and above three hund- 
red sail of transports, store ships and prizes. 

The slate of affairs on the eve of the decisive battle of Long- 
Island is told more effectively in the following extract than we 
could otherwise tell it. The extract is from a letter written at 
New York, August 22, 1776 : 

"This night we have reason to expect the grand attack from 
our barbarous enemies, the reasons why, follow. The night be- 
fore last, a lad went over to Staten Island, supped there with a 
friend and got safe back again undiscovered, soon after he went 

13 



178 HISTOKY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

to General Washington and upon good authority reported,— 
That the English army amounting to hfteen or twenty thousand, 
liad embarked, and were in readiness for an engagement — That 
seven ships of the line, and a number of other vessels of war 
were to surround this city and cover their landing, — That the 
Hessians being 15,000 were to remain on the island and attack 
Perth-Amboy, Elizabeth-town point, and Bergen, while the 
main body were doing their best here ; that the Highlanders 
expected America was already conquered, and that they were 
only to come over and settle on our lands, for which reason 
they had brought their churns, ploughs, &c. being deceived, 
they had refused fighting, upon which account General Howe 
had shot one, huug live or six, and flogged many. 

" Last evening in a violent thunder-storm, Mr. (a very 

intelligent person) ventured over, he brings much the same ac- 
count as the above lad, with this addition, — That all the horses 
on the island, were by Howe' s oi'ders killed, barrelled up and 
put on board ; the wretches thinking that thej^ could get no 
landing here and of consequence be soon out of provision. 
That the tories were used cruelly, and with the Highlanders 
were compelled to go on board the ships to fight in the charac- 
ter of common soldiers against us. The British army are pro- 
digiously incensed against the tories, and curse them as the in- 
struments of the war now raging. Mr. further informs, 

that last night the fleet was to come up, but the thunder storm 
prevented. The truth of this appears, from the circumstance 
of about three thousand red coats landing at ten o'clock this 
morning on Long Island, where by this time it is supposed our 
people aie hard at it. There is an abundance of smoak to-day 
on Long Island, our folks having set tire to stacks of haj% &c., 
to prevent the enemy's being benefited in case they get any ad- 
vantage against us. All the troops in the citj^ are in high 
spirits and have been under arms most of the day, as the fleet 
have been in motion, and are now, as is generally thought, only 
waiting for a change of tide. — Forty-eight hours or less, I be- 
lieve, will determine it as to New York, one way or the other." 

The state of the British army on Staten Island at this time is 
shown by the following list, from an English autliority : 

Commander in Chief, General the Honourable Sir William 
Howe, K. B.; Second in Command, Lieutenant-General Henry 



HISTOKY OF inciIMOND COUNXr. 179 

Clinton; Third in Command, Right Honorable Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral Earl Percy. 

1st Brigade. — Major-General Pigot ; 4th Regiment, Major 
James Ogilvie ; 15th Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Bird ; 27th 
Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel J. Maxwell ; 45th Regiment, Ma- 
jor Saxton. 

2d Brigade. — Brigadier- General Agnew ; 5th Regiment, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Wolcot ; 28th Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Rob. Prescot ; 35th Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Carr; 
49th Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Henry Calder, Bart. 

'M Brigade. — Major-General Jones ; 10th Regiment, Major 
Vatass ; 37th Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Abercrom- 
by ; 38th Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Wm. Butler ; 52d 
Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Mungo Campbell. 

Uh Brigade. — Major-General James Grant ; 17th Regiment, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Manhood ; 40th Regiment, Lieutenant- 
Colonel James Grant; 46th Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Enoch 
Markham ; 55th Regiment, Captain Luke. 

5th Brigade. — Brigadier-General Smith ; 23d Regiment, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel J. Campbell ; 43d Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel 
George Gierke ; 14th Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Alured 
Clarke ; 63d Regiment, Major Francis Sill. 

Qth Brigade. — Brigadier-General Gou. Robertson ; 23d Regi- 
ment, Lieutenant-Colonel Benj. Bernard ; 44th Regiment, Ma- 
jor Feury Hope ; 57th Regiment, Lieutenant John Campbell ; 
64th Regiment, Major Hugh McLerocli. 

1th Brigade. — Brigadier-General Wm. Erskine, quarter-mas- 
ter general ; 17tii Light Dragoons, Lieutenant-Colonel Birch ; 
71st Highlanders, 1st Battalion, Major John Macdowell ; 2d 
Battalion, Major Norman Lamont. 

Brigade of Guards. — Major-General Matthew ; Light In- 
fantry Brigade, Brigadier-General Honorable Alexander Leslie; 
1st Battalion Light Infantry, Major Thomas Musgrave ; 2d Bat- 
talion Light Infantry, Major Straubenzie ; 3d Battalion Light 
Infantry, Major Honorable John Maitland ; 4th Battalion Light 
Infantry, Major John Johnson. 

Reserve. — Right Honorable Lieutenant-General Earl of Coru- 
wallis ; Brigadier-General the Honorable John Vaughan ; 33d 
Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Webster ; 42d Regiment ( Royal 
Highland), Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Stirling; 1st Battalion 
Grenadiers, Lieutenant-Colonel Honorable Henry Monckton ; 



ISO HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

2d Battalion Grenadiers, Lieutenant-Colonel William Meadows; 
3d Battalion Grenadiers, Major Thomas Marsh ; 4th Highland 
Grenadiers, Major Charles Stuart ; Royal Artillery and En- 
gineers, Brigadier-General Cleveland. 

General Howe having signified to the admiral that it was his 
intention to make a descent in Gravesend bay on Long Island, 
on the morning of the 22d the necessary dispositions of the 
fleet were made, and seventy-five fiat boats, with eleven bat- 
teaux and two galleys (built for this service) were prepared 
for landing the troops. Howe delegated the direction and 
suijerintendence of the embarkation of the. army from Staten 
Island entireh' to Commodore Hotliam, by whom it was con- 
ducted with the greatest dispatch and good conduct. In the 
afternoon of the 21st the troops who were to compose the second 
and third debarkations were put on board transports which had 
been sent up from the Hook to Staten Island for that purpose. 
Early in the morning of the 22d the " Phoenix," " Rose," and 
" Greyhound," frigates, commanded by Captains Parkei", Wal- 
lace and Dickson, together with the " Thunder " and " Carcass," 
bombs, under the direction of Colonel James, were placed in 
Gravesend bay, to cover the landing of the army. 

As soon as the covering ships had taken their respective sta- 
tions, the first embarkation of the troops from Staten Island 
commenced. These, consisting of the light infantry and there- 
serve, both forming a body of four thousand men, and under 
the command of General Clinton, made good their landing with- 
out opi^osition. The transports with the brigades which com- 
posed the second debarkation, consisting of about five thousand 
men, moved at a little distance after the flat-boats, galleys and 
batteaux, and by eight o'clock were ranged on the outside of 
the covering ships. The transports, with the remainder of the 
troops, followed in close succession, and before noon fifteen 
thousand men and forty j)ieces of cannon were landed on Long 
Island. 

On the 25th Howe ordered General de Heister with two brig- 
ades of Hessians from Staten Island to join the army ; leaving 
one brigade of his troops, a detachment of the Fourteenth regi- 
ment of foot from Virginia, and some convalescents and recruits, 
under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrymple to take 
care of Staten Island. The landing of the troops on Long Is- 
hmd was effected without opposition. There is no need of re- 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 181 

capitulating the story of the battle and its unfortunate result — 
the}' are well known ; the British succeeded in gaining posses- 
sion of New York, which was their main object To keep pos- 
session after having obtained it, required a strong force, and, 
in consequence, the greater part of the British forces on the is- 
land were withdrawn ; enough, however, were left to defend it 
against any force tlie Americans might be able to bring against 
it. The result of the battle, on the whole, was beneficial to the 
people of Staten Island, as it left fewer soldiers there to depre- 
date uj^on them, and rob them of their substance. 

Howe, who was undoubtedly sincere in his oft-expressed 
desire for peace, sent General Sullivan, who had been taken 
prisoner at the battle, with a verbal message to congress, 
requesting that body to appoint some of its members in a 
private capacity, to meet him for the purpose of adopting such 
measures as might be agreed upon for the restoration of 
peace in the country, intimating that he was clothed with 
sufficient power for that purpose. By the same messenger con- 
gress returned answer that they could not send any of their 
number, except in their official capacities as members of 
their body, and a committee of that character they would send 
for the purpose expressed in the message. Accordingly, on the 
6th of September, Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsylvania, John 
Adams, of Massachusetts, and Edward Rutledge, of South 
Carolina, were appointed as such committee. On the 14th they 
met Howe on Staten Island ; the interview took place in the 
"Old Billop House,"' still standing. It had been occupied as a 
barrack for soldiers, and was in an exceedingly filthy condition; 
but one room had been cleaned and purified, and furniture 
placed therein, for the purpose of the meeting. Howe met the 
committee in a courteous manner, and at once proceeded to ex- 
plain the nature of the power with which he had been invested, 
which was simjMy to extend the royal clemency and full par- 
don to all repentant rebels who would lay down their arms and 
return to their allegiance. The committee informed liim that 
they were not authorized to entertain any propositions which 
did not recognize the political independence of the colonies. 
Howe replied that he had a great regard for the Americans as a 
people, but that recognition of their independence was a matter 
beyond his authority, and could not for a moment be enter- 
tained, and that their precii^itancy was painful to him and 



182 HISTORY OF IIICHMOND COUNTY. 

perilous to tliemselves. Franklin answered that the people of 
America would endeavor to take good care of themselves, and 
thus alleviate as much as possible the pain his lordship might 
feel in consequence of any severities he might deem it his duty 
to adopt. This terminated the brief interview, and the com- 
mittee rose to depart. Howe politely accompanied them to the 
shore, the party walking, both in coming and returning, 
between long lines of grenadiers, who, to use the language of 
Mr. Adams, "looked as fierce as ten furies, and making all the 
grimaces and gestures, and motions of their muskets, with bay- 
onets fixed, which, I suppose, military etiquette requires, but 
which we neither understood nor regarded." On the way down, 
his lordship again expressed his regret that he was unable to 
regard them as public characters, to which Mr. Adams replied, 
"your lordship may consider me in what light you please, and 
indeed, I should be willing to consider myself for a few moments 
in any character which would be agreeable to your lordship, ex- 
cept that of a British subject." To this Howe replied, "Mr. 
Adams appears to be a decided character." 

The consequence of this exhibition of Mr. Adam's independ- 
ent and fearless spirit was subsequently apparent, when the list 
of unpardonable rebels was published, prominent among which 
was the name of John Adams. It must have been humiliating 
in the extreme to the pride and arrogance of the British gov- 
ernment to be obliged to receive this proscribed rebel as the first 
minister plenifjotentiary of the new government of the United 
States of America. The remark of Mr. Adams did not prevent 
Lord Howe continuing his courtesy, for he sent them over to 
Perth Amboy in his own barge. 

After the failure of the interview above described, Howe de- 
termined to effect a landing at Kipp's bay, and accordingly sent 
five frigates from the Staten Island fleet to that point. On the 
evening of September 13th they passed up the East river, where 
by keeping close to the Long Island shore they were able to en- 
dure without serious damage the constant fire of the Americans 
from the fortifications on the New York side. Three battalions 
of Hessians were also sent from the encampment here to take 
part in that expedition, the particulars of which belong to other 
pages of history than these. 

The British affected to believe that it was the desire of 
Washington to obtain possession of the post at Richmond, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 183 

though what peculiar value either he or they attached to it in 
a military point of view, except that it commanded one of the 
entrances to the island through the Fresh kills, is not apparent. 
To give the rebels, as well as his own semi-barbarous Hessians, 
employment, Knypliausen sent out frequent expeditions from 
the island into the Jerseys, where the most horrid atrocities 
were sometimes committed. 

These were not usually sent forth on their errands of robbery 
and murder, unless they were known to be much superior in 
number to the patriots, who were likely to meet and oppose 
them, or had some other important advantage. These preda- 
tory excursions, however, were not confined to the British; the 
Americans, on their part, sadly annoyed their enemies by strik- 
ing at them whenever the opportunity offered. The first of the 
hostile demonstrations on the pai't of the patriots occurred in Oc- 
tober, 1776. General Hugh Mercer, who was in command of the 
American forces in that part of New Jersey contiguous to Staten 
Island, planned anattack upon theBritish intrenchments at Rich- 
mond. Passing over to the island with part of the troops posted at 
Perth Amboy, on the night of the 15th instant, he advanced to 
within a few miles of Richmond, at which point he had been in- 
formed three companies— one of British troops, one of Hessians 
and another of Skinner's militia — were stationed. Colonel 
Griffin was detached with Colonel Patterson's battalion and 
Major Clarke at the head of some riflemen, to fall in upon the 
east end of the town, while the remainder of the troops en- 
closed it on the other quarters. Both divisions reached the 
town by break of day, but the enemy had learned of their ap- 
proach and were prepared to flee, exchanging only a few shots 
with Colonel Griffin's detachment. Two of the enemy weie 
mortally wounded, and seventeen taken prisoners, two of the 
Americans being killed. Colonel Griffin received a wound in 
the foot frr)m a musket ball, and Lieutenant Colonel Smith was 
slightly wounded in the arm. Among the prisoners taken in 
the action were eight Hessians. The attacking party also 
brought away forty-five muskets and other implements of war 
and one standard of the British Light Horse. 

Later in the month the British fleet was anchored partly at 
the " Watering Place " and partly in Prince's bay, from the 
latter of which troops were frequently disembarked to the 
Jersey sliore and up the Raritan to make predatory excursions 



184 HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

among the people in adjacent localities. Bergen had already 
been abandoned by the Americans as a place too much exposed 
and of too little importance to continue to occupy in the face of 
the possibilities of the British falling u^ion the stores of hay and 
provision that had been gathered there. 

During the latter part of the year the king's forces under 
Cornwallis proceeded to New Brunswick, professedly to protect 
the magazine there, but probably desiring to provoke an en- 
gagement with Washington. The latter, however, refused to 
be drawn into an engagement to which he feared his forces 
were unequal, but spread his army over the Jerseys, taking 
positions at Newark, Elizabethtown and Woodbridge, thus com- 
manding the coast opposite to Staten Island. In these towns 
he established his army during the remainder of the Winter. So 
alert were his troops that they could not be surprised ; and so 
strongly were they posted that any attempt to di.slodge them 
by force must have been attended with great hazard and loss. 
The following from an English autliority relates the position 
from that standpoint : 

" Of all the great conquests which his Majesty's troops had 
made in the Jersies, Brunswick and Amboy were the only two 
places of any note which they retained after the action at 
Princetown ; and however brilliant their success had been in 
the beginning of the campaign, they reaped little advantage 
from them when the winter advanced, and the contiguity of 
so vigilant an enemy forced them to perform the severest 
duty." 

During the winter Howe was employed in forming several 
provincial corps from the Americans, British and Irish who had 
separated from their countrymen of their own choice, or had 
been obliged to leave their homes because of the tory sentiments 
they expressed. These new levies strengthened the British 
army by several thousand men. Several hundred of the citizens 
of Staten Island were among the number. They were placed 
on the same footing, as to i)ay, subsistence and clothing, as the 
regular troops. As a farther encouragement to the privates 
and non-commissioned officers, they were at the end of the war 
to receive certain proportions of land, according to the rank 
which they might, then hold. These provincials were placed 
under command of the late Governor Tryon, who was now made 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 185 

a major-general, and part of them were stationed on Staten 
Island. 

In Februar}', 1777, a detachment under Major Gordon 
marched from Richmond to Cole's ferry, where they embarked 
for Sandy Hook, where it was learned a considerable body of 
Americans were lying. After being detained on board by bad 
weather and violent winds for three days they, numbering about 
two hundred, effected a landing on the beach about two miles 
below the American posts, which they surprised before daylight 
in the morning. The Americans were driven from the Never- 
sink hills, sustaining a loss of several killed and seventy-four 
taken prisoners. 

Predatorj' warfare and petty skirmishes were of frequent oc- 
currence. On the 27th of February, Major Tympany crossed 
from Staten Island to Elizabeth town with about sixty men on a 
foraging expedition. He came into collision with a body of 
Americans, two or three of whom were killed, but the former 
escaped, bringing with him back to the island four or five pris- 
oners and ten head of cattle. 

Early in March a party of Americans made an attempt to gain 
the light-house at Sandy Hook, but were unsuccessful, the men 
posted there being protected by the guns of the " Syren " which 
lay at anchor near the spot. 

About the same time a partj- of Americans came down the 
Jersey shore and fired on some boats that were taking in 
forage at New Blazing Star, on the island. Major Tympany 
thereupon crossed the river with about forty men and pur- 
sued the "rebels" about three miles, on his return bringing 
back ten head of cattle and thirty sheep. 

The following extract from a letter addressed by Tryon to 
"Christopher Billop Esq ; Colonel of the Militia of Richmond 
County, Staten Island," dated May 19, 1777, appeared in a 
New York paper of June 9, with the annexed remarks by the 
editor of the newspaper : 

"It is my earnest recommendation, that the inhabitants of Rich- 
mond County, who had the tirst opportunity of testifiying their 
loyalty to their Prince, and fidelty to the British constitution, on 
the arrival of the Kings troops, and which was most graciously 
accepted by his Majesty, should, on this occasion, eagerly fol- 
low the api^roved example of the militia of King's county, by 
liberally raising a sum of monej' for the comfort and encourage- 



186 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

ment of the Provincial troops raised in this province. T enclose 
the form of the instrument which is adopted for the in- 
habitants of the city and (county to subscribe; copies of which 
will by sent to Queen's and Suffolk counties, for a similar pur- 
pose. Any suggestion of fears and apprehensions from circum- 
stances of situation, must, and assuredly will be construed into a 
lukewarmness at this crisis, to the King and the old constitution. 
Therefore, let the loyal subjects now distinguish themselves 
by free donations, and dare the worst from men who have struck 
at the root of their liberty and property." 

The following editorial remarks are appended: 

" We have the pleasure to inform the Public, that the loyal 
inhabitants of Statex Island have already subscribed Flee 
Hundred Pounds for the Encouragement of the Provincial 
Corps of this Colony, and transmitted the same to our worthy 
Governor, to be applied to that laudable Purpose. The Sub- 
scription in other Parts meets with great Success among his 
Majesty's loyal Subjects, both in this City and County, and in 
the Counties upon Long Island, almost every one being desirous 
to give this Test of Loyalty and Love of constitutional Fi"ee- 
dom. Trimmers and some doubtful Characters, it is expected, 
will be made manifest upon this Occasion, and of course be 
properly noticed." 

On the (3th of June a party of about twelve British made a 
raid into Elizabethtown, where they were fired npon by the 
Americans, and a skirmish ensued, in which two or three were 
killed and several wounded. The British succeeded in stealing 
a fiat bottomed boat large enough to carry one hundred men. 

About this time the Bi'itish commander caused to be issued 
the f(jllowing proclamation, which sufficiently explains itself. 

" Office of Covimlssary-General, New York^ June 12, 1777. 

" Whereas his Excellency Sir William Howe, General and 
Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's Forces, hath thought fit 
to order and direct Magazines of Forage to be established, for 
the better supplying of the troops under his Excellency's com- 
mand: Notice is hereby given to the several Land-holders, 
Farmers and others, upon York-Island, Long-Island, and 
Staten-Island, who may be able to supply the said Magazines 
with Hay, Straw, Oats, and Indian Corn, that the following- 
rates will be paid for the same, viz.: 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 187 

" Good Fresh Hay, at the rate of Five Shillings per Hundred 
Weight. 

" Straw, at Two Shillings per Hundred Weight. 

'' Oats and Indian Corn, according to its quality. 

" And for the better encouragement of sucli persons to sup- 
ply the said magazines, an allowance of One Shilling per Mile, 
for every Ten Hundred Weight, will be paid, over and above 
the price stipulated aforesaid, for the carriage of the said 
Forrage to the respective Magazines hereafter mentioned, viz.: 

York Island. 

" King's-Bridge, Marston's Wharf, City of New- York. 

Long-Island. 

" Brooklyn Ferry, Hempstead-Harbor, Oyster-Bay, Great- 
Neck. 

Staten-Island. 

" Cole's-Ferry, Decker' s-Ferry. 

"At which said several places i^roper persons will be appointed 
to receive the same, to ascertain the weight thereof, and to cer- 
tify the delivery : and upon certificates, ascertaining such 
weight and delivery, being produced at this office, the said For- 
rage will be paid for immediately. 

" His Majesty's service requiring these Magazines to be es- 
tablished as soon as the season will permit, it is e.xpected and 
required that all persons who raise forrage, do furnish a certain 
quantity, proportionable to the produce of each person respec- 
tively. 

" Daniel Wier, 

" Commissary GeneraV 

Howe and a large portion of his army were at this time in 
New Jersey. The objective point was Philadelphia. During 
the early part of the preceding winter the army had reached 
Trenton, but at the time when it seemed as though nothing lay 
in the way of their marching to Philadelphia and gaining an 
easy victory a sudden and unaccountable apathy seemed to 
seize the British commander, and he rested until the army of 
Washington was in a better position to resist his onward prog- 
ress. By this time Howe's army had returned to Amboy, and 
the j)i'oject of reaching Philadelphia by land seemed to be 
abandoned. Another attempt, however, was made to di'aw 
Washington away from his fortifications, so that the British 
army could surround him. Having retreated slowly across the 



188 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

state, while Greene was harassing liis rear, he prepared to cross 
from Amboy to Staten Island, having determined to attemjjt to 
reach Philadelphia by water. Throwing a bridge, which had 
been constrncted for crossing the Delaware, across the sound, 
he sent the heavy baggage and all the incumbrances of his army 
over to the island under the escort of some troops, while prep- 
arations were making for the passage of the rest of the army. 
Intelligence of this was received by Washington, who supposed 
that the British army was retreating in earnest, under a mis- 
apprehension of the strength of his own army. He accordingly 
descended from the hilly country where he was entrenched, 
and moved forward as though pursuing a flying enemy. 

Tlie British general, now thinking he had nearly gained his 
point, determined if possible to get between Washington and 
the mountains and force him to a general action on his own 
terms or cut off some of his detachments if he should retreat. 
He accordingly returned to Amboy, and on the 26th of June 
put his army in motion, advancing toward the pursuing forces 
of Washington. The forces came into collision and the British 
pursued as far as Westfleld, but finding, as a British 
chronicler states, " that the caution and prudence of General 
AVashington had rendered his schemes abortive." General 
Howe returned with his army to Amboy on the second day after 
its expedition against Washington, and on the 29th passed 
again over to Staten Island. In the meantime Washington 
wrote to congress from his camp at Middlebrook, June 2Sth, as 
follows : 

" Sir, On Thursday morning General Howe advanced with 
his whole army in several columns from Amboy, as far as West- 
field. We are certainly informed, that the troops sent to Staten 
Island returned the preceding evening, and it is said with an 
augmentation of marines : so that carrying them there was a 
feint, to deceive us." 

The campaign of Howe in New Jersey and its results were 
summed up by a paper of the time in the following paragraph : 

" Since our last we have certain intelligence, that soon after 
the skirmish with Lord Stirling's division, as mentioned in our 
last, the enemy filed off from Westfield to Amboy, and from 
thence to Staten Island, and left us in entire possession of New 
Jersey, in a small part of which they had been pen'd up for six 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 189 

months, unable to do any great matters, except stealing a few 
cattle, and making Whigs of the wavering and diffident." 

Among the troops stationed on the island at this time was a 
rising young man whom subsequent events made a conspicuous 
figure in the history of the revolution. This young man was 
Major John Andre, the spy. Though he was not prominent 
on the island, yet while here he made his will, and the in- 
tex'est which naturally attaches to his name must be our apology 
for the insertion of a copy of that document in this connection. 

" Tlie following is my last Will and Testament and I appoint 
as Executors thereto Mary Louisa Andre my Mother, David 
Andre my Uncle, Andrew Girardot my Uncle, John Lewis An- 
dre my Uncle. 

"To each of the above Executors I give Fifty Pounds. — I 
give to Mary Hannah Andre my Sister Seven Hundred Pounds. 
— I give to Ann Marguerite Andre my Sister Seven Hundred 
Pounds. — I give to Louisa Katherine Andre my Sister Seven 
Hundred Pounds. — I give to William Lewis Andre my Brother 
Seven Hundred Pounds. — But the condition on which I give 
the above mentioned Sums to my aforesaid Sistei^s and Brothers 
are that each of them shall pay to Mary Louisa Andre my 
Mother the sum of Ten pounds yearly during her life. — I give 
to Walter Ewer Jun'r of Dyers Court Aldermanbury One Hun- 
dred Pounds. — I give to John Ewer Jun'r of Lincoln's Inn One 
Hundred Pounds. I desire a Ring value Fifty Pounds be given 
to my Friend Peter Boissier of the Eleventh Dragoons. — I de- 
sire that Walter Ewer Jun'r of Dyers Court Aldermanbury 
have the Inspection of my papers. Letters, Manuscripts, I mean 
that he have the first Inspection of them witii Liberty to de- 
stroy or detain whatever lie thinks proper, and I desire my 
Watch be given to him. And I lastly give and bequeath to 
my Brother John Lewis Andie the residue of all my Effects 
whatsoever. — Witness my Hand and Seal Staten Island in the 
province of N. York, N. America the 7th June 1777. 

" John Andre Capt'n in the 26th Reg't of Foot [L. S.] 

"N. B. The Currency alluded to in this Will is Sterling 
Money of Great Britain. — I desire nothing more than my wear- 
ing Apparel be sold by public Auction, J. A. 

" City and Province I 
of New York. f ^^• 

Be it remembered that on the Ninth day of October in the 



190 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty per- 
sonally came and appeared before me Gary Ludlow, Surrogate 
for the City and Province aforesaid, Henry White and William 
Seaton both of the City and Province aforesaid Esquires who 
being severally duly sworn did declare that thej^ were well ac- 
quainted with the hand writing of John Andre formerly Cap- 
tain in the twenty-sixth Regiment of Foot and since Adjutant 
General Deceased that they have frequently seen him wi-ite, 
And that they verily believe that the before wiitten Instrument 
purporting to be the last Will and Testament of the said John 
Andre bearing date the seventh Day of June One thousand 
seven hundred and Seventy Seven with the Subscriptions there- 
to are all of his the said John Andre's own proper hand Writ- 
ing and further saith not. 

"Cary Ludlow Snrr." 

It will be seen by the above that the will was admitted to 
probate just a week after the execution of its maker at Tappan 
on the 2d of October, 1780. 

Howe having determined to approach Philadelphia by water 
began early in July the embarkation of his army from Staten 
Island. On the 5th he began placing on board of transports 
such corps as he wished to take with him, amounting to thirty- 
six battalions of British and Hessians, including the light in- 
fantry and grenadiers, the queen's rangers, a powerful artillery, 
and a regiment of light dragoons. The troops that remained in 
the vicinity of New York were placed under command of Gen- 
eral Clinton, while under him General Knyphausen had com- 
mand of Staten Island. Though preparations began thus earlj- 
it was not until the 23d of the month that the fleet, consisting 
of two hundred and sixty-seven sail, passed outside of Sandy 
Hook. 

At this time there seems to have been a desire on the part of 
the British to starve out the "rebels," or at least to weaken 
and perplex them by preventing their obtaining any supplies 
from New York either directly or through Staten Island. To 
carry this out all commerce between here and the Jerseys was 
prohibited. It was difficult, however, to enforce such prohibi- 
tion. On the 17th of July Sir William Howe issued a procla- 
mation relating to the cargoes of vessels arriving at the port of 
New York. He appointed Andrew Elliot, Esq., superintendent 
of all imports and exports passing between New York and 



HISTOUY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 191 

Long Island and Staten Island, and in order that the inhabitants 
of the latter islands might be furnished with necessary supplies 
and at the same time to prevent supplies being conveyed to the 
"rebels" through these channels, he ordered that no craft of 
any kind should carry from the city to either of these islands, 
without special permit from the superintendent's office, any 
larger quantities of rum, spirits, sugar or molasses than one 
barrel of each, or of salt exceeding four bushels. No quantity 
of any other kind of merchandise larger than might be con- 
sidered sufficient for the use of one family should be taken at 
one time. The penalty for the violation of the restrictions of 
this proclamation was forfeiture of the vessel, large or small, 
and the goods found on board, and imprisonment of the master 
in charge. Similar proclamations were subsequently issued. 

After the removal of the trooj^s from the island for the ex- 
pedition to Philadelphia there were only about three thousand 
men left here. The principal part of this number were com- 
prised in two regiments of Hessians, other troops being of the 
British and some of the provincial corps. 

In the early part of August a party of Americans crossed the 
kills and landed somewhere on the shore at West New Brighton, 
and directed their course for Richmond. As they approached 
that village they were met by a party of British, who, after a 
slight resistance, retreated slowly until they reached St. An- 
drew's church, w^hicli they entered; the Americans fired at the 
windows until every pane of glass had been broken; they then 
approached, and fired through the broken windows until the 
British were driven out; a reinforcement from the vicinity of 
the quarantine had been hurried forward, who reached Rich- 
mond just as the church had been vacated. It was now the 
turn of the Americans to retreat, which they did by the Fresh 
kill road, keeping the prisoners which they had taken in their 
rear. These consisted not of soldiers only but of citizens also, 
whom they had captured on their way; this prevented the 
British from firing, lest they should kill their own friends, or 
at least non combatants. After the Americans had descended 
the hill and crossed the bridge at the locality now known as 
Laforge's store, Westfield, thev concealed themselves in a corn- 
field, where they waited until their pursuers were within reach, 
when they fired a volley at them and the British colonel in 
command was killed. Continuing their retreat until they 



192 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

reached the shore of the sound, they drove their prisoners, 
some thirty in number, into a large hog sty, wliile they them- 
selves seized what boats they required, and effected their es- 
cape. While they were crossing, tlie British reached the shoie 
and opened on them with their artillery, which they had 
not yet had opportunity for using, and killed several of 
them. 

On the 19th of the same month Colonel Dongan and Major 
Drummond, of the Third battalion of provincials, mostlj^ from 
New Jersey, with about sixty men, set out from Staten Island 
on a predatory raid into New Jersey. They marched about 
twenty-seven miles into the interior, on the way capturing 
fourteen prisoners, about seventy cattle and horses, and twenty 
stand of arms, besides destroying a quantity of powder, shot, 
.salt and rum. The transporting of the stock and prisoners across 
the sound at Amboy was covered by a guard on the Jersey side. 

One of the most important engagements of the war on the 
island took place on the 22d of August, the particulars of 
which are as nearly in accordance with the following statements 
as we can gather the facts. General Sullivan, of the American 
forces, being then stationed at Hanover, N. J., some twenty 
miles or more from Elizabethtown, determined to make reprizals 
for the predatory raids that the Staten Island troops had been 
making into New Jersey. He learned that the British forces 
were distributed on the island about as follows: Colonel 
Buskirk, with a regiment of two hundred and hfty, was en- 
camped near Decker's ferry ; Colonel Barton, with his regiment 
of about the same number, near the New Blazing Star ferry ; 
Colonel Lawrence, with one hundred and fifty provincials, near 
the Old Blazing Star ferry ; Colonel Dongan (Edward Vaughn 
Dongan) and Colonel Allan, with one hundred men or more each, 
about two miles apart, between the latter point and Amboy ; 
and two regiments of British regulars, two of Anspachers and 
one of Waldeckers were encamped by their fortifications near 
the "Watering Place," their numbers being unknown. 

Sullivan well knew that any movement of troops by daylight 
in the country near the shore would be reported by toi'ies in 
time to allow the enemy an opportunity to prepare to oppose 
him. To avoid this a long march by night was the only resource. 
Accordingly his troops at Hanover were X)Utin motion at about 
three o'clock in the afternoon of the 21st. These were selected 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 19(:> 

from the brigades of Generals Smallwood and De Borre, and 
numbered about one thousand men, who were supposed to be 
most ably prepared to endure a long march. The body reached 
Elizabethtovvn at about ten o'clock in tlie evening. 

The forces were now divided, so as to make a simultaneous 
attack on two different points on the island. Colonel Ogden, 
with his own and Colonel Dayton's regiment, joined by one 
hundred militia under Colonel Prelinghuysen, marched from 
Elizabethtown in the evening to a point opposite the Fresh kill, 
where they were conveyed by boats across the sound and up the 
creek, their object being to attack Lawrence's regiment in 
the rear. The remainder of the troops crossed from Halstead's 
point or Elizabethtown point, approaching the island on the 
north shore. General Smallwood' s brigade was to attack Bus- 
kirk's, and General De Borre's brigade was to attack Barton's 
regiment, each leaving one regiment on the main road to cover 
their rear, and to pick up such as might escape Colonel Ogden 
or the attacking parties. Ogden was instructed to move for- 
ward, should he complete the reduction of Lawrence's regiment, 
and attack Dongan and Allan, otherwise to hold his ground till 
Sullivan came up from the north side to join him. 

In crossing the water some difficulty was experienced on 
account of a scarcity of boats, but the whole force were safely 
landed on the island before daylight, without being discovered 
by the British. 

About day-break Ogden fell upon Lawrence and after an en- 
gagement of two or three minutes routed him, taking the 
colonel himself and about eighty privates and small officers 
prisoners. He then moved forward toward the po.sitions of Don- 
gan and Allan and drove them back. They fell back to the 
neighborhood of Prince's bay, where they found inti'enchments 
which made their position too strong for the fatigued assailants 
to press against. Ogden now fell back toward Old Blazing Star 
and took position to wait for Sullivan. In the meantime the 
alarm had I'eached the commander at the fortifications on the 
northeast part of the island, and he, General John Campbell, at 
once marched with the Fifty-second British and Third battalion 
of Waldeckers toward Richmond, under the supposition that 
that point would be approached by the invaders. 

Soon after the moment of the attack made by Ogden, General 
Sullivan moved with De Borre's brigade to attack Colonel Bar- 
13 



194 HISTORi' OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

ton's regiment that laj' at the New Blazing Star (or Decker's 
ferrj'). Here lie found the hitter drawn up to receive him, but 
upon the main body moving np to charge they broke ranks and 
fled. Sullivan had stationed Colonel Price off to the right to 
prevent the escape of the enemy, but many of them seized the 
boats that lay at the ferry and crossed to the Jersey shore, while 
others being acquainted with the intricacies of the swamps and 
woods were able to evade their pursuers. A considerable num- 
ber of arms, blankets, hats, etc., were taken, and about forty 
privates, with Colonel Barton himself, were made prisoners. A 
barn and about thirty-five tons of hay were also burned. 

At the same time General Smallwood,with his brigade, moved 
in another column to the neighborhood of the Dutch church, 
where they attacked what they supposed was Colonel Buskirk's 
regiment. General Smallwood's guide, instead of bringing him 
in the rear of the regiment, led him to a position in their full 
front. The latter had formed on the east side of the bridge 
and Smallwood's men, in a solid column, were moving over to 
attack them. The British, however, upon the first tire, broke 
and fled back to the fortifications on the northeast part of the 
island, where they were later in the day rallied by General 
Skinner, to whose corps they belonged, and were led by him to 
pursue the retiring Americans with the other regiments under 
Campbell. In their precipitate retreat before Smallwood's 
brigade, however, they left their stand of colors, which was 
taken by the Americans, and their tents which the latter de- 
stroyed, as they also did a quantity of hay and stores. Small- 
wood's men also burned several of their vessels which lay in 
the kill or creek near by. 

The forces of Sullivan and Smallwoodnow effected a junction 
and moved inland toward Richmond to join the detachment of 
Ogden. About noon they reached Old Blazing Star and found 
that Ogden, after waiting till longer delay seemed unnecessarily 
hazardous, had sent his division across the river. Sullivan had 
sent a messenger to bring the boats from Elizabethtown point 
(Halstead's point)down the sound to help transfer his men across, 
but the messenger was detained on the way and the boats failed 
to come. In this emergency Sullivan began at once to trans- 
port his men by means of the three boats which Ogden had 
used, but before this could be accomplished the accumulated 
forces of Campbell, Skinner, Dongan and Allan were upon his 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 195 

rear and his chances of escape were growing uncomfortably 
small. The rear was now covered by about eighty of Small- 
wood's Marylander's, commanded by Majors Stewart and Til- 
lard, who ably maintained the honorable reputation of that 
brigade by their unflinching tenacity against overpowering 
odds. The bravery of this little party was highly commended 
by Sullivan and others at the time. By their determination the 
enemy was held back until all the troops except this company 
were safely conveyed across the river. So hotly did they con- 
test the ai^proach of the enemy that the latter were several 
times driven back with great confusion. They were, however, 
forced to retire and take new positions nearer the water, until 
they stood within twenty rods of the shore. The British at 
last brought up their heavy artillery which, with "grape and 
canister," so commanded the sound that the boatmen refused 
to face the fire and come after the rear-guard. Seeing this, and 
their ammunition also failing them this little band of heroes at 
last surrendered, though several of them escaped, seven of 
them even swimming across the channel, and others, perhaps, 
being drowned in the attempt. About forty of them were 
taken prisoners. 

Various estimates were given as to the losses in this day's 
engagement on the island. The total loss to the British was 
one hundred and thirty privates and eleven officers taken 
prisoners, and probably twenty-five to one hundred killed and 
wounded; while that of the Americans was ten killed, fifteen 
wounded and one hundred and twenty-seven privates and nine 
officers taken prisoners. Besides this the British lost arms, 
baggage and a number of cattle carried away and stores and 
vessels destroyed, wliile the Americans lost a few whale boats 
which Campbell's command succeeded in capturing. 

General Sullivan, in a letter to congress, in which he urged 
an investigation into his conduct relating to the ailair, in order 
to clear himself from some charges which he regards as unjust, 
gives a summary of it in the following language: 

"In this expedition we landed on an island possessed by tlie 
enemy; put to rout six regiments; killed, wounded and made 
prisoners at least four or five hundred of the enemy; vanquished 
every party that collected against us ; destroyed them great 
quantities of stores ; took one vessel, and destroyed six ; took 
a considerable number of arms, blankets, many cattle, horses, 



19G HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTy. 

etc.; marched victorious through the island, and in the whole 
course of the day, lost not more than one hundred and fifty 
men, most of which were lost by the imprudence of themselves, 
and officers. Some few, indeed, were lost by cross accidents, 
which no human foresight could have prevented." 

After this raid the British i-ested less easily. They were 
more watchful, and suspicious of another attack. Rivington's 
Gazette, of October 25, contained the following paragraph, 
which furnishes some suggestions in reference to the subject 
before us : 

"By a Gentleman who has lately escaped from confine- 
ment in New Jersey, we have been favoured with the following 
particulars ; * * * It is imagined that another expedition 
is determined upon against Staten-Island under the command 
of Mr. Philemon Dickenson, who has assembled near 400 men 
about Elizabeth Town ; boats and scows are also prepared, with 
a floating raft, to cross Bridge creek, and thereby secure a le- 
treat to the point. Gen. Sullivan was, on his late unsuccessful 
attempt on this island, highly reprehended for not using this 
expedient, and, as he has been again blamed for his conduct at 
Brandywine, in Pennsylvania, he some time ago resigned his 
commission in disgust, and withdrew himself from the rebel 
army." 

Tories who were so strong in their sentiments as to make a 
residence among the friends of independence undesirable, were 
frequently coming over to the island to join the British army 
or to take advantage of its protection. Some Quakers, whose 
peculiar principles forbade their taking any active part in war- 
like transactions, fled to the island as an asylum from the ap- 
peals of their active whig neighbors. Sullivan, in his raid on 
the island, claimed to have taken twenty-eight tories in addi- 
tion to his other trophies, but the accounts from the other side 
represent that they were not toi-ies but peaceable Quakers. 

The fears of the British, above referred to, were not ground- 
less. Daring November a number of raids were made by the 
Americans from Elizabethtown. On the night of Tuesday, the 
18th, just before the rising of the moon, a party landed in the 
meadow, where they concealed themselves until they had the 
advantage of moonlight, when they surprised the picket, but 
after a brisk skirmish were obliged to abandon the scheme and 
return to Elizabethtown. Another attack was made the follow- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 197 

ing day, but so far as we can learn with no better success. 
Again, early on Thursday morning, the 20th, a body of 
"rebels," commanded by Philemon Dickenson, before spoken 
of, landed on the island and advanced upon the encampments 
of Campbell. No sooner had they opened fire on them, how- 
ever, than they discovered reinforcements approaching and sev- 
eral ships of war steering for the island. Seeing that thej' 
would be overwhelmed by numbers they retired, and with the 
loss of a few prisoners made good their escape to the Jersey 
shore. On Fi'iday another attempt was made to approach the 
island, but with no better results. In these raids more or less 
stores and provisions were carried off. At the final evacuation 
on Friday, the removal of what stores they had collected was ex- 
ecuted under cover of an armed vessel, which apju'oached the 
shore near the present site of Mariner's Hai-bor and fired occa- 
sional guns at the houses on the island. 

Some difficulty seems at this time to have been experienced 
in enforcing the restrictions against the exportation of salt from 
New York to Staten Island, by which channel that article of 
necessity was smuggled into New Jersey. By a proclamation 
on the 15th of November, Clinton directed that the inhabitants 
of Staten Island should be allowed to carry salt for their family 
uee, not exceeding three bushels for a family, on obtaining a 
certificate from a Justice of the peace attesting that they were 
jjroper persons to be trusted with it. This regulation soon fell 
into abuse, and on the 18th it was amended by a further proc- 
lamation that all persons from the island applying for a permit 
to carry salt thither must have a certificate from either General 
Campbell or General Skinner, and general authority was given 
to any one who should intercept any person carrying salt with- 
out the requisite pei-mit, to seize and appropriate the salt to his 
own use and purposes. 

On the 20th of December General Clinton issued a remarka- 
ble proclamation regulating the prices of farm products, the 
arguments, objects and substance of which are shown in the 
following extracts : 

" Whereas it is consonant not only to the common princi- 
ples of humanity, but to the wisdom and policy of all well 
regulated states, in certain exigencies to guard against the ex- 
tortion of individuals, who raise the necessaries of life, without 
which other parts of the community cannot subsist ; and where- 



198 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

as the farmers on Long-Island and Staten Island are possessed 
of great quantities of Wheat, Rye, and Indian Corn, for sale, 
beyond what they want for their own consumption, and it is 
highly unreasonable that those who may stand in need of those 
articles, should be left at the mercy of the farmer-, and whereas 
it is equally just and reasonable that every encouragement 
should be given to the industry of the husbandman ; * * * 
* * * and whereas the present rates at which Wheat, Flour 
Rye-Meal, and Indian Meal are sold, do vastly exceed in pro- 
portion the advanced price of those articles which the farmer 
stands in need of purchasing, ***** (Jq hereby or- 
der and direct that the prices to be hereafter demanded for the 
said articles shall not exceed the following rates, 

"A Bushel of Wheat weighing Fifty Eight Pounds, Twelve 
Shillings, with an Allowance, or deduction in proportion for a 
greater or lesser weight. 

"A Bushel of Rye, or Indian Corn, Seven Shillings. 

" Merchantable Wheat Flour, Thirty-Jive Shillings per Cwt. 

"Rye Flour, Twenty Shillings per Cwt." 

"Indian Meal, Seventeen Shillings per Cwt." 

The proclamation further stipulated that the farmers of these 
two islands should at once make returns to the commanding of- 
ficers of militia in their respective localities, showing the quan- 
tity of each kind of grain they had, and what quantity they 
would need for the use of their families during the year. He 
also ordered the farmers to thresh one third of their grain at 
once ; another third by the first of February and the remaining 
third by the first of May next. A refusal to comply with any 
of the requirements set forth in the proclamation should be 
punishable by confiscation of the entire crop of grain lielong- 
ing to such offender, and imprisonment of his person. 

In January, 1778, the prisoners taken in the raid of Dicken- 
son during November preceding had not been exchanged, but 
on the contrary, some had been summarily dealt with, when the 
following correspondence passed between General Robertson 
and Governor Livingston of New Jersey, which, as it throws 
light on the condition of affairs and the results of the Novem- 
ber raids on the island, we insert in full. 

"New York, January 4, 1778. 
"Sir, 

" I am interrupted in my daily attempts to soften the calami- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 199 

ties of prisoners, and reconcile their case with our security, by 
a general cry of resentment, arising from an information 

" That officers in the King's service taken on the 27th of No- 
vember, and Mr. John Blown, a deputy-commissary, are to be 
tried in Jersey for high treason ; and that Mr. Ilifl and another 
prisoner have been hanged. 

" Though I am neither authorized to threaten or to sooth, my 
wish to prevent an increase of horrors, will justify my using 
the liberty of an old acquaintance, to desire your interposition 
to put an end to, or prevent measures which, if pursued on one 
side would tend to prevent every act of humanity on the other, 
and render every person who exercises this to the King's ene- 
mies, odious to his friends. 

"I need not point out to you all the cruel consequences of 
such a proceedure. I am hopeful you'll prevent them, and ex- 
cuse this trouble from. Sir, 

" Your most obedient humble servant, 

"James Robertson. 

"N. B. At the moment that the cry of mui'der reached my 
ears, I was signing orders, that Fell's request to have the liberty 
of the city, and Colonel Reynold to be set free on his parole, 
should be complied with. I have not recalled the order, be- 
cause tho' the evidence be strong, I can't believe it possible, a 
measure so cruel and impolitic, could be adopted where you 
bear sway. 

" To William Livingston, Esq., &c., &c." 

To this Governor Livingston re2:)lied : 

''January 7, 1778. 
"Sir, 

"Having received a letter under your signature, dated the 
4th instant, which T have some reason to think you intended 
for me, I sit down to answer your inquiries concerning certain 
officers in the service of your king taken on Staten Island, and 
one Browne who calls himself a deputy commissary ; and also 
respecting one Iliff and another prisoner (I suppose you must 
mean John Mee, he having shared the fate you mention) who 
have been hanged. 

" Buskirk, Earl and Hammel, who are, I presume, the officers 
intended, with the said Browne, were sent to me by General 
Dickenson as prisoners taken on Staten Island. Finding them 
all to be subjects of this state, and to have committed treason 



200 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

against it, the council of safety committed tliem to Trenton 
goal. At the same time I acquainted General Washington, 
that if he chose to treat the three first who were British officers, 
as prisoners of war, I doubted not the council of safety would 
be satisfied. General Washington has since informed me that 
he intends to consider them as such; and they are therefore at 
his service, whenever the commissary of prisoners shall direct 
concerning them. Browne I am told committed several rob- 
beries in this state before he took sanctuary on Staten-Island, 
and I should scarcely imagine that he has exjjiated the guilt of 
his former crimes by committing the greater one of joining the 
enemies of his country. However, if Gen. Washington chooses 
to consider him also as a prisoner of war, I shall not interpose 
in the matter. 

"Iliff was executed after a trial by jury for enlisting our 
subjects, himself being one, as recruits in the British army, 
and he was apprehended on his way with them to Staten-Island. 
Had he never been subject to this state, he would have forfeited 
his life as a spy. Mee was one of his company, and had also 
procured our subjects to enlist in the service of the enemy. 

"If these transactions. Sir, should induce you to counte- 
nance greater severities toward our people, whom the fortune 
of war has thrown into your power, than they have already 
suffered, you will pardon me for thinking that you go farther 
out of your way to find palliatives for inhumanity, than ne- 
cessity seems to require; and if this be the cry of murder to 
which you allude as having reached your ears, I sincerely pity 
your ears for being so frequently assaulted with cries of mur- 
der much more audible, because much less distant, I mean the 
cries of your prisoners who are constantly i^erishing in the 
goals of New York (the coolest and most deliberate kind of 
murder) from the rigorotis manner of their treatment. 
" I am with due respect, 

" Your most humble servant, 

"William Livingston. 
"James Robertson, Esq., &c. &c. 

"P. S. You have distinguished me by a title which I have 
neither authority nor ambition to assume, I know of no man, 
sir, who bears swap in this state. It is our peculiar felicity, 
and our superiority over the tyrannical system we have dis- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 201 

carded, that we are not swayed by men — In New Jersey, Sir, 
the laws alone hear sioayy 

The winter of 1777-78 developed a considerable amount of 
smuggling, which taxed the genius of General Clinton to the 
utmost to prevent. . He appointed Alexander Gardiner wharf 
officer at Staten Island, and required all vessels carrj'ing goods 
to the island to land them at Cole's ferry and nowhere else, 
and there all cargoes should be inspected by the said officer, 
who would allow goods to be taken thence to their places of 
destination on the island. This officer was also authorized 
to seize and confiscate all goods not corresponding to the 
superintendent's permit accompanying them, and also to seize 
and confiscate any vessel found employed in such illicit 
traffic. 

The e£fort to prevent commerce between the island and 
New Jersey was not confined to the British authorities. It 
was prohibited also by the colonists. An illustration of the 
the efforts made to prevent commercial intercourse with the 
enemy is furnished by the following anecdote. In January, 
1778, one William Pace, of Schooley's mountain, and Thomas 
V. Camp, of Somerset county, were both on their way to 
Staten Island, the latter with a quantity of fiour and the 
former with four quarters of beef, intended for the British 
general. They were both arrested and taken before the council 
of safety on the 28th. It would have been regarded as high 
treason had evidence been sufficient to prove clearly that 
their cargoes were designed to supply the wants of the enemy, 
but this proof was wanting. Still there was evidence sufficient 
to warrant the council in confiscating the flour and beef and 
further imposing a fine upon each for asking a price for their 
goods higher than the law established. On the following day, 
however, evidence was produced that one Jacob Fitz Randolph, 
who lived at the Jersey side of the Blazing Star, had met 
them at " Sparck-Town," a locality infested by tories on 
Railway river, several miles southwest of Pilizabethtown, and 
engaged to take their cargoes across the sound when the ice 
broke up if they would bring them to his house. They were 
accordingly apprehended and confined in jail for procuring 
provisions for the enemy. 

Early in the morning of the 10th of June three boats were 
loaded with men at Elizabethtown and i^roceeded down the 



202 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

sound to the month of the Fresh kill, and landing between the 
Blazing Star and Burnt island in the mouth of the kill, they 
surprised the picket, but being unable to drive them back they 
retired and waited on the Jersey shore until near daybreak, 
when they returned with an increase of numbers and attempted 
to land at the same place, under cover of their batteries. They 
met with such vigorous resistance from Skinner's brigade, who 
were guarding that point, that they were obliged to abandon 
the undertaking, and retired, with small loss on either side. In 
the meantime the British were thoroughly alarmed, and the 
corps of royal artillery which had been posted at the redoubts 
between Ryers' and Cole's ferries were put in motion with two 
six-pounders, and the troops at the different posts on the island 
were also under arms and marching toward the expected scene 
of action. The timely retirement of the Americans, however, 
made their presence unnecessary and probably saved them- 
selves from the serious consequences of an encounter with 
superior numbers and the raking lire of artillery. 

But little transpired on the island during the summer to be 
worthy of special notice. The operations between hostile forces 
were mainly confined to the petty depredations, smuggling 
and raiding of foraging parties on a small scale, which were of 
too frequent and continual occurrence to be worthy of special 
remark. In September (10th) the commissary of forage required 
the farmers to thresh out their grain at once "as the Straw is 
wanted for use of his Majesty's troops," for which they were to 
be paid legal rates on delivery at the magazine at Cole's ferry. 

On the evening of the SOth of September an expedition hav- 
ing been fitted out with troops, embarked from Staten Island, 
set sail for Little Egg harbor, off which point they arrived on 
the .5th of October, having been delaj'ed by adverse winds. 

As the hard winter of 1778-9 came on proclamations were 
issued fixing the prices of various common necessities as fol- 
lows : Walnut cordwood, or any other kind of wood, four 
pounds per cord ; upland hay, eight shillings per cwt. ; salt 
hay, four shillings per cwt. ; straw, three shillings per cwt. ; 
Indian corn, ten shillings per bushel ; oats, seven shillings per 
bushel. Other proclamations of similar character were after- 
ward issued. The following item, though not regulated by the 
military authorities of the island is of interest. It is from a 
paper of December 26. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 203 

" The intense cold weather has, within these two days, oc- 
casioned the quick-silver in the weather-glass to fall four de- 
grees lower than has been observed for the last seven years ; 
several ships, &c., and many lives have been lost by the mon- 
strous bodies of ice floating in our Bay." 

In March, 1779, Sir Henry Clinton, by proclamation gave per- 
mission to any loyal subjects of the king to enclose and culti- 
vate for their own benefit portions of the cleared woodlands 
and other uncultivated lands of persons who had left their homes 
on Staten Island and Long Island, and were not under the pro- 
tection of the government, and such loyal subjects were also 
permitted to erect temporary habitations upon such lands. 

The ''New YorTi Gazette'' of March 22, 1779, says: "Last 
Thursday morning a party of Rebels from Jersey, commanded 
by one Richmond, came to Prince's Bay in order to carry off a 
Boat that lay there loaded with wood ; but before they could 
accomplish their Design a few of the Inhabitants assembled on 
the Beach and kept up such a brisk Fire upon them that they 
were obliged to relinquish their Prize, which happened to be 
aground, and make the best of their way home. Mr. Sleight, 
an Inhabitant of Staten Island, received a Wound in his Breast 
on this Occasion, but it is hoped he will do well. 

" Two or three different Parties of them have been lately at 
the Seat of Col. Christopher Billop of the same Island in order 
to captivate him once more, with a view to get him for an Ex- 
change." 

At the same time parties from the island were making fre- 
quent incursions into New Jersey. As examples the two fol- 
lowing paragraphs from Gaine's " New York Gazette,'' will 
suffice. 

[April 26] "Last Wednesday Lieutenant-Colonel Buskirk 
sent off Capt. Ryerson, Lieut. Buskirk, and Ensign Earle with 
a Detachment of 42 Men of the 4th Battalion of New Jersey 
Volunteers, who fell in with the Rebels about Day-Break, im- 
mediately charged and put them to the Rout, killed and wounded 
a considerable Number, whom they passed on the Field beg- 
ging for Mercy, Avhile they followed the rest until reinforced by 
their Main Body, consisting of about 100 Carolina Troops and 
sixty militia; Captain Ryerson perceiving his Men much fa- 
tigued drew off his little Party to a rising Ground, where in- 
stead of being attacked by them so much superior in Number, 



204 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

he saw them Retreat. His Loss on the Occasion was one Man 
missing and two wounded." 

[July 3] " Last Tuesday Night a Detachment from his Ma- 
jesty's 37th Regiment, with a Party of CoL Barton's and some 
Refugees, went over from Staten-Island to a Place called Wood- 
bridge Raway, where they surprized a Party of Rebels in a 
Tavern, killed their commanding Officer Captain Skinner of a 
Troop of Light Horse, and another Man, and took the following 
Prisoners, viz.: Capt. Samuel Meeker, Christopher March, 
Joseph Stephens, Benjamin Willis, David Craig, Stephen Ball, 
Lewis Marsh, Jotham Moore, Jesse Whitehead, John Thorp, 
Thomas Bioomfield, Jeremiah Corey and David Hall." 

As has before been intimated. Col. Christopher Billoj) was a 
conspicuous object, and the whigs of Jersey were anxious to 
secure him as a prisoner. Several attempts were made. At 
last, on the 23d of June, a party of about twenty landed near the 
house under cover of some trees, and undiscovered by the in- 
mates of the house approached it and seized their victim, and 
bore him away to Jersey. On the same night a party landed and 
carried off another prominent tory, Colonel Cortelyou, and with 
him one William Smith of Woodbridge, who was his guest at 
tlie time. 

We are prompted in passing, to give the following extract 
from a tory paper of September 18, 1779, which, though not 
openly germain to the subject, contains a hidden sarcasm, 
which may be seen in the light of the fact that the atmosphere 
of New York was strong with "loyal" sentiment, Avhile the op- 
posite was true in New Jersey. 

" The old inhabitants of Staten-Island assert, that the cause 
of the Fever and Ague's having been so prevalent of late there, 
was the want of the usual quantity of Thunder and Lightning. 
But what shall we think of the cause, to which a Lady from 
Jersey attributes the sickly state of the inhabitants of that Prov- 
ince? She affirms it is entirely owing to the scarcity of Mus- 
ketoes. — If what she affirms be true— how easily can we account 
for the great health abounding in this city. We Jiane Phlebot- 
omists in 'plenty. Genuine.''' 

The following records are suggestive and appropriate to this 
time: 

" Sept. 28th 1779 Richmond County. Received of John Bedel 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. SOS 

Esq. the sum of Fifty one Pound six shill for the use of the Gun 
boat as appears by tlie following receipt * 
"Richmond County Sept the 28. 1779 

"Received of Mess'' Richard Conner, Christian Jacobsou 
Henry Ferine, Cornelis Corson supervissors for said County the 
suin^f Eighty four Pound being in full for my selfe & Eight 
men belonging to the gun boat commenceing the fourteent of 
august last and continued for one month 

by me Jas. Stewart Capt" 

There are allusions to the gun-boat in several places in the 
records ; it was probably one of the means used by Colonel Bil- 
lop to enforce the order to prevent communication between New 
Jersey and Staten Island. This boat, for a time at least, ap- 
pears to have been under the direction of Colonel Billop, and 
was an unpopular affair to the people on both sides of the water. 
It was an almost daily occurrence that those on board fired at 
any person within their reach on the Jersey shores ; with what 
efifect, however, is not known. A company of a half dozen Jer- 
seymen once attempted to get possession of the boat, but failed. 
It was lying at anchor one bright moonlight night under the 
shore of the island, and as no person was seen moving on board, 
they supposed their opportunity bad come. Accordingly, one 
of their number was sent in a small boat to row up some 
distance above the gun-boat, and then to drift silently down 
with the ebb tide, and, as he passed, to observe whether there 
was any person on her deck. He succeeded in accomplishing 
his purpose, but discovered a man sitting Hat upon the deck, 
apparently engaged in strajjping a knife upon his boot. When 
he reached the shore he made his report, and the enterprise 
was abandoned for the time, nor do we know that it was ever 
after renewed. 

The sloop "Neptune" was kept as a guard-boat, stationed 
above Decker's ferry. She was in command of Captain Palfrey. 
By some untoward circumstances she drifted or by some means 
fell within range of the guns of the fort at Elizabethtown point on 
the morning of October 15th, and there she grounded. Captain 
Coogle, who was in command at Decker's ferry, discovered her 
situation and sent Cornelius Hetfield, who had command of a 
gun-boat at that post, with twenty men to recover the sloop. 
The latter was at once joined by Job Hetfield in another boat, 
well manned, and they both set off for the "Neptune," which by 



206 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

this time had been boarded by about thirty men from the oppo- 
site shore. The latter, seeing the superior numbers and strength 
of their assailants, abandoned the sloop and the Hetfield party 
went on board. The cannon from the fort now opened on the 
sloop and the fire was returned bj^ the Hetfields. For several 
hours the vessel remained aground, before the tide arose suffi- 
ciently to float her, and during that time firing continued with 
more or less activity. Though several men were wounded, and 
perhaps some killed, and considerable damage done, the boat 
was able to escape to her station. 

November 24, 1779, Sir Henry Clinton issued his proclama- 
tion to procure fuel for the approaching winter. It was well 
that he thus early made preparation for the needs of his army 
during what proved to be a long and extremely cold winter. 
He required all persons who had obtained permission to cut 
wood "off certain lands on Long Island and Staten Island im- 
mediately to bring what wood they have cut to this market," 
and required all owners of woodlands on those islands to cut and 
cart their wood to the most contiguous landings in such propor- 
tion "as will fully answer the intent and meaning of this proc- 
lamation and prevent the disagreeable necessity of granting 
permission to their wood to be cut by others."' Later in the 
winter, Governor James Robertson, of the province of New 
York, issued a proclamation forbidding the cutting of wood on 
the estates of persons " supposed to be in rebellion." 

The third important attempt to invade the island was made 
during this winter — which is known as the hard winter of 1779- 
80. The American forces were quartered in New Jerse^v for 
the winter, but poorly clothed, provisioned and armed. Gen- 
eral Washington, in his quarters at Morristown, planned this 
expedition, and left its direction to General Stirling. From 
their peculiar exposure and suffei'ings at the moment, the com- 
mander-in-chief, perhaps, suggested this attack, to divert the 
minds of his discontented men from their numerous and fear- 
ful forebodings. The American army was then encamped on 
the hills back of Morristown, the encampment extending sev- 
eral miles into the country. Their canvas tents afforded but a 
miserable security from the rain, sleet and snow. On the 3d of 
January came one of the most tremendous snow storms ever 
remembered. Some of their sheltering hovels and tents were 
blown down or torn to pieces, and the soldiers becama like 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 207 

sheep under tlie snow, which fell to a depth of from four to six 
feet. So obstructed were the roads as to prevent the usual re- 
ceipt of supplies, and for ten days each man had but two pounds 
of meat and some even were entirely destitute. But why con- 
tinue the details of the condition of the American army durinsj 
that hard winter ? They are matters of general history. We 
have given enough to show that it was under the most disheart- 
ening circumstances that the plan of invading Staten Island 
was conceived and set in operation. 

General Stirling was dispatched with a body of the troops to 
attack the outposts of the enemy on Staten Island. They pro- 
ceeded in sleighs, and crossing the river on the ice at Elizabeth- 
town point, took up their line of march toward the present site 
of Port Richmond. The bridge of ice was sufficient to allow 
the passage of any force across the kills, and it was supposed 
that the same obstruction would prevent the movement of re- 
inforcements to the enemy by means of their shipping in the 
bay. The detachment under Stirling numbered about two 
thousand five hundred men. 

When a little east of Port Richmond the column divided, 
part marching onward toward New Brighton, where the British 
post had been erected on the hills, and the other wing proceed- 
ing up Mill lane, the present Columbia street of West New 
Brighton, and approached the mill which stood at the head of 
the pond. The night of the 14th, on which they made this 
long passage from camp to the designed scene of action was a 
starry night, bright and clear, but so intenselj^ cold that about 
one third of the men were more or less wounded by the biting 
frost. The Intent was to surprise Skinner's brigade of new re- 
cruits, but it was soon discovered that their designs had been 
anticipated by the enemy, information having reached them 
through the kind offices of their tory friends. A surprise was 
now out of the question, and as the works of the enemy were 
well situated and apparently strong, and the means of receiv- 
ing reinforcements from New York not obstructed as had been 
expected, it was deemed unadvisable to make an assault. 

The troops spent the day of the 15th of January and the fol- 
lowing night on the island, in snow waist deep, protecting them- 
selves as well as they could from the inclement weather by 
making huge fires of the cordwood which they found piled up 
where they halted. The British during the day sent a boat to 



208 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

New York, whicli returned at evening with reinforcements. On 
the morning of the 16th Stirling withdrew his detachment to 
Elizabethtown. The official report of Stirling concludes with 
the following statements : 

" The retreat was effected in good order, and with very little 
loss. A party of the enemy's horse charged our rear guard 
under Major Edwards, but was immediately repulsed. The 
major had three men killed. Some few of the men were frost 
bitten, and though we look all the pains in our power to have 
all those unable to march transported in sleighs, yet I imagine 
a very few may have been left behind. 

" Immediately after crossing, a party was detached under 
Lieutenant-Colonel Willett, to Decker's house. The corps there 
had been alarmed and barely made its escape. The house as 
a garrison place, and 8 or 9 small vessels were burned. A con- 
siderable quantity of blankets and other stores were found. 

" While the troops were upon the island, a number of per- 
sons from this side [Elizabethtown] took advantage of the oc- 
casion to pass upon the island, and plunder the people there in 
the most shameful and merciless manner. Many of them were 
stopped on their return, and their booty taken from them. In 
addition to which, I have sent an order for publication, requir- 
ing those who had eluded the search to restore the articles in 
their possession, and exhorting the good people at large, to as- 
sist in detecting them. All the soldiery on recrossing the ice, 
were searched, and the little plunder they had taken from them, 
and their names noted, that they may be brought to punish- 
ment. The articles recovered are, and will be deposited with 
the Revd. Mr. Caldwel, who is exerting himself in the affair, 
to be returned to the owners. I am happy to inform your Ex- 
cellency, that a very inconsiderable part indeed, of the troops, 
dishonored themselves, by particijmting in these enormities." 

Additional light is thrown upon the affair by the following 
extract from a letter from an officer on board the British brig 
" Hawk," lying off Staten Island at the time. 

" On the loth inst. at Day break, the Alarm wae given, that 
the Rebels were on Staten Island, an Exj^ress was sent on 
board from Gen. Sterling to prepare for Action; we immedi- 
ately got a Spring on our Cable and cleared Ship, the Rebels 
appeared on the Hill over the Ferry, and brought a Field Piece 
to bear upon us, which we perceiving, fired our bow Gun twice 



HISTOUY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 20!J 

at them, the second shot roused them from a Meal they were 
making of broiled Beef Stakes; their Fire from the Field Piece 
was well directed, but the Shot fell short of us some Yards. 
A large Party of Rebels came down to burn the Houses and For- 
age, we fired on them, shot one Man's Arm off; he bled to death 
and now lays in the snow; our Firing made them retreat as fast 
as possible up the Hill to their main Body (which by the In- 
formation of two Prisoners and a Deserter that we had on board, 
consisted of 4,000 Foot, 200 Horse, 6 Brass Field Pieces 6 
Pounders, and a dumber of Artillery Men) Gen. Skinner sent 
a Letter on board, thanking us for the Service we did. 'Tis 
certain that the ' Hawk' prevented the Forage, the Tavern, 
and all the Houses in that Neighborhood from being burnt. A 
Number of Men, Women and Children came on board for Ref- 
uge with their Goods and Effects." 

Another British account contains so much that will be read 
with interest that it is presented here. Proper allowances must 
be made for the partisan coloring in these statements of inter- 
ested persons at the time : 

" On Friday Night the 14th inst. a large Detachment from 
the Rebel Army, consisting, it is supposed, of between 3 and 
4000 Men, with 6 Pieces of Cannon, and 2 Howitzers, moved 
suddenly from the Neighborhood of Morris-Town, and being 
(as it is reported) transported in Sleighs over the Ice, reached 
Staten-Island before Day break in the Morning of the 15th, 
bending their Marcli towards Decker' s-Ferry. Colonel Buskirk 
commanding the 4th Battalion of Brigadier- General Skinner's 
Brigade posted there, having received Intelligence of their Ap- 
proach, Judged it proper to retire towards Ryerson's Ferry, uot 
being in Force sufficient to oppose so considerable a corps. 
The Rebels pursued their March, and before Noon took Post 
upon the Heights, near the Redoubts, constructed at the North 
End of the Island : from their Position, cutting off the Com- 
munication between the Corps hutted there, and the Troops at 
Richmond and the Flag Staff : they remained in this Situation 
till early in the Morning of the 16th, when they were observed 
retiring from Staten Island, without attempting any Thing ; 
they burnt Decker's House, and a very few small Vessels frozen 
in by the Ice at that Place. A small Detachment which har- 
assed their Rear, made a few Prisoners ; and several Deserters 
came to the different Posts during their Stay on the Island. 

14 



210 HISTORY OF KIOHMOND COUNTY. 

" They committed many Excesses, in plundering and dis- 
tressing the Inliabitants. 

"Sixteen Prisoners have been already sent to Xew York ; 
and it is imagined there are others not yet arrived from Staten 
Island." 

It may be noted in passing that the ice soon after became 
more solid, and there was a bridge across the bay from the is- 
land to New York, over which loaded sleighs and other heavy 
burdens were drawn. A paper of February 7 has the item that 
eighty six loaded sleighs passed over on the ice the day before. 
The most intense frost, accompanied by great falls of snow be- 
gan about the middle of December, and shut up navigation to 
the port of New York from the sea for many weeks. The se- 
verity of the weather increased to such an extent that about 
the middle of January all communication with New York city 
by water was cut off, and new means opened by the ice. The 
passage of the North river from the city was about the 19th of 
January practicable for the heaviest cannon, a circumstance 
previously unknown in the memory of man. Soon after pro- 
visions were transported in sleighs, and detachments of cavahy 
marched from New York to Staten Island upon the ice. The 
East river was also blocked up for many daj's. In this state of 
their communications the British on New York island were ap- 
prehensive of an attack from the army of Washington, and set 
on foot a project for putting the loyal expressions of the in- 
habitants to a test by raising about fort}^ companies of troops 
among them. This gave them good courage and they actuallj^ 
began to hope that the Americans would make an attack, so 
well prepared did they feel to resist it. It was not until the 
20th of February that the frost abated so as to allow the waters 
surrounding New York to become navigable. 

General Knyphausen, who had command of the Hessian 
troops on Staten Island, early in June, 1780, resolved to make 
an incursion into New Jersey, Springfield being the point to 
which his efforts were to be directed. On the night of the 6th 
he passed over with about five thousand men, accompanied by 
Generals Robertson, Tryonand Sterling to Elizabethtown point. 
The militia stationed near there fired upon them and Sterling 
was wounded in the thigh. The British troops, however, 
maintained their march and reached the town (Elizabeth) early 
in the morning of the 7th, whence, after a halt, they moved on 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 211 

toward Springfield. Finding the forces in that direction too 
strong to oppose, he drew back to Elizabethtown and awaited 
the arrival of Clinton and Arbuthnot on their return from 
Charlestown. The main strength of Washington's army now 
being engaged in guarding points along the North river which 
were threatened by the British commander, Knyphausen hav- 
ing been reinforced marched again toward Springfield, where 
he engaged the Americans under Green and Dickenson, on the 
23d. From this engagement he returned the same day to Eliza- 
bethtown, and during the night following brought his entire 
army across to Staten Island. 

Toward the end of October, 1780, there was great excite- 
ment among the British on Staten Island, caused by a rumor 
that Lafayette had arrived in the vicinity of Elizabethtown 
with a large force, and furnished with boats on wheels, and 
that he meditated an attack on the British posts on the 
island. Every precaution was taken to prevent a surprise; the 
defenses were all strengthened, and defects which they sup- 
posed would not be observed by the inexperienced and unedu- 
cated eyes of the American officers, but which the more culti- 
vated observation of the French would readily detect, were re- 
paired so far as time and means permitted. Simcoe marched 
his rangers down from Richmond to Billop's point toward the 
close of the day, in full view of the people on the opposite 
shore, to create the impression that an inroad into New Jersey 
was about to be made, and then marched them back again 
through the interior after dark. Reinforcements were sent from 
New York city, and Simcoe issued the following procla- 
mation : 

" The Lt. Colonel has received information that M. Lafayette, 
a Frenchman, at the head of some of his majesty's deluded 
subjects, has threatened to plant French colors on the Rich- 
mond redoubts. The Lt. Colonel believes the report to be a 
gasconade; but as the evident ruin of the enemy's affairs may 
prompt them to some desperate attempt, the Queen's Rangers 
will lay in their clothes this night, and have their bayonets in 
perfect good order." 

He also had orders from the commander-in-chief to abandon 
his post "if the enemy should land in such force as to make, 
in his opinion, the remaining there attended with risk."' Noth- 
ing, however, came of this alarm. 



212 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

The following letter, sent by Washington to Captain Judah 
Alden, commanding officer at Dobb's ferry, indicates that the 
American leader had some important scheme in contemplation 
which for some reason or other was never carried out, and the 
details of which are unknown to us. Nevertheless we consider 
the letter worthy of preservation, as it shows that Wasliing- 
ton's eye was frequently turned toward Staten Island, and that 
he had a lively sense of the importance of this little bit of terri- 
tory in the great struggle. 

" Headquarters, 23d Novem., 1780. 

" Sir : I impart to you in confidence that I intend to execute 
an enterprise against Staien Island to-morrow night, for 
which reason I am desirous of cutting off all intercourse with 
the enemy on the east side of the river. You will therefore to- 
morrow at retreat beating set a guard upon any boats which 
may be at the flat or neck, and not suffer any to go out on any 
pretense whatever until next morning. Toward evening yon 
will send a small party down to the Closter landing, and if they 
find any boats there you will give orders to have them scuttled 
in such a manner that they cannot be immediately used, but to 
prevent any possibility of it the party may remain there until to- 
ward daylight — but are not to make fires or discover themselves 
— and then return to your post. I depend upon the punctual 
observation of this order, and that you will keep this motive 
a secret. Acknowledge the rec't of this, that I may be sure 
you have got it. 

" I am, 8ir, Yr. Most obt. Servt., 

" Geo. Washington." 

On Friday evening, February 23, 1781, Capt. Cornelius Het- 
field, with a party of five tory refugees from New Jersey, crossed 
over to Elizabethtown and attacked the command of Captain 
Jolin Craig, who was posted there. Seizing them by surprise 
the assailants were able to secure the captain and ten men as 
prisoners, and with them they returned to Staten Island. A 
similar raid was made on the night of March 1st, when a party 
of tories brought off Commissioner Clossen and an ensign 
and another man. The same method of partisan warfare was 
being prosecuted by the whigs from New Jersey, who made 
frequent descents upon the tories of the island, carried away 
prisoners and plundered their families. 

On the 20th of March a party of militia and refugees from the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 213 

island, under command of Lieut. Richard Seaman of the militia 
and Joseph Shotwell of the refugees, made an incursion several 
miles into the country in the township of Woodbridge, where 
they captured and brought off two subalterns and eleven pri- 
vates of the New Jei-sey militia.. On their return they boasted 
with apparent pride that they had not stooped to the mean- 
ness of plundering the houses of those who fell in their power. 

The leader of the above exploit was at this time desirous to 
dispose of his farm, as will be seen by the following announce- 
ment, which is too much of a curiosity to be thrown away. 

" To be sold at Vendue, On Thursday the 19th inst. The Farm 
belonging to Richard Seaman, very pleasantly situated on the 
south side of Staten-Island (formerly the mansion house and 
part of the valuable plantation that did belong to Mr. Jaquis 
Poilloin, deceased) containing 190 acres, exclusive of the beach 
and flats on the front of the said farm, which will be included 
in the purchase on which comes great quantities of sea weed (a 
very valuable manure.) On said farm is a good house, barn, 
and all other necessary out-houses, a very good apple orchard of 
above 200 ingrafted trees of the best fruit, now in its prime, 
with most sorts of other fruit trees, common to this country. 
The natural advantages of this plantation are so well known, 
that it is unnecessary to say any more on the subject. The 
vendue will be held on the premises, where the conditions of 
sale will be made known by Richard Seaman." 

On Saturday evening, the 21st of April, Capt. Cornelius Het- 
lield, with some of his tory refugees and a detachment of Gen- 
eral Skinner's corps under his command, crossed over to Eliza- 
bethtown, where they surprised and drove in the x^icket. Here 
they engaged in a skirmish, in which one of their number, 
Elias Mann, a tory, was killed. Hetfield and one private were 
also wounded. The party succeeded in liberating one Michael, 
a tory, who was held there in chains, and then made good their 
return to the island. 

A return of this kind of excursion took place on Tuesday, 
May 9th. Captain Hendricks, accompanied by a sergeant and 
eleven men, came from Elizabethtown to the island and at- 
tempted to take the patrol of the First battalion of New Jersey 
h)yalists. Finding it impossible to surprise them they secreted 
themselves in the woods until they supposed the patrol had left 
the neighborhood, but were discovered later and a skirmish 



214 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

ensued, in which one man was killed, another wounded, and 
two of the assailants made prisoners. They then retired to the 
Jersey shore. 

We give the account of another of these incursions as related 
from tlie British stand-point. On the 29th of June a party, con- 
sisting of thirtj^eight of the First battalion of New Jersey vol- 
unteers, with about thirty-four militia and refugees, the former 
under the command of Lieutenant Hutchinson and Ensign 
Barton, and the latter under command of Captains Durham and 
Robbins, landed at Twembley's point, near the mouth of Rah- 
way river and surrounded a tavern in hopes of taking three 
rebel light horse, who were supposed to be stationed there to 
give notice of any troops approaching from Staten Island. Not 
finding these men here they proceeded to the house of one 
Captain Amos Morse, who was surprised and taken out of his 
bed, with four other " rebels." The party then went in search 
of cattle, and succeeded in capturing about forty head, and 
eighty sheep. As they were driving them to the landing at 
Twembley's point about forty of the "rebels" having collected, 
pursued them, and a skirmish ensued, in which twenty of the 
pursuers were made prisoners and some others were wounded. 
The Britisii and tories were then able to land their booty and 
prisoners on Staten Island. 

July 21st Captain Hetfield made an incursion into New Jer- 
sey and brought oft' Lieutenant Obadiah Meeker and fourteen 
privates of the "rebel" militia as prisoners, with whom he re- 
turned to Staten Island. 

On the night of the 23d of August a party from New Bruns- 
wick, under command of Captain Hyler, in six boats, landed 
on the island and took off with them three tories and nine 
horses. They also collected about one hundred head of cattle 
on the shore, but the militia of the island being apprised of 
their movements, they were unable to convey them away. 

The incident related in the following paragraph, taken from 
a newspaper of November 12, 1781, shows the social possibili- 
ties under a martial condition such as that in which Staten 
Island then lay : 

" Last Saturday William Hetfield, an inhabitant of Elizabeth- 
Town, Railway, came to Staten Island with a small quantity of 
flour to dispose of, that he might get some hard money which 
would enable him to pay the taxes imposed by the rebel Gov- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 215 

ernor : Oa his return in the evening, he was met in the Sound 
by one Peter Terrat, a noted thief, who supports himself and a 
gang of such miscreants, by robbing and plundering ; to him 
and his party Hettield surrendered himself ; but after he was 
a prisoner, Terrat thought Hetfield threw something overboard, 
on which the infernal fiend tDok a pistol out of his pocket and 
shot him dead, laid the body on the bank of the Sound, and 
went off exulting with the other prisoners he had taken. 

" Hetfield has left a wife and several children to lament their 
loss. It is said the people of the county, detesting such horrid 
violence, intend making enquiry into the murder, and punish 
the villain as he deserves. 

"We since hear that a Jury has brought a verdict against 
him guilty of murder, on which he Hed from justice." 

Captain Adam Hyler, who has been already mentioned, made 
many predatory raids on Long Island, Staten Island and in New 
Jersey. He was an active partisan in and about that part of 
New Jersey where he resided. As his expeditions against the 
enemy were chiefly conducted by water, and in small boats, it 
is probable that he held his title of captain by courtesy, and not 
by commission. In January, 1782, a party of infantry from 
Staten Ishind, in six boats, went up the Raritan to New Bruns- 
wick, and before daylight succeeded in capturing all his boats. 
In Jess than a month thereafter Hyler launched a large new boat 
bnilt for thirty oars. 

The following, taken from a paper published in New York, in 
the interests of the royalists, is another instance of the enter- 
l^rise and indomitable resolution of Hyler. The date is July 
15, 1782 : 

" Last Tue.sday night Mr. Hyler took 2 Ashing boats near the 
Narrows, and ransomed them for $100 each. One of them has 
been twice captured." 

The same day " a little before sunset, Mr. Hyler, with 3 large 
24-oared boats, made an attack on the galley stationed at 
Prince's Bay, south side of Staten Island. There being little 
or no wind, he came up with a good deal of resolution, but 
Capt. Cashman gave him an 18-pounder, which went through 
the stern of one of the boats, and obliged Hyler to put ashore 
on the Island, where, after a smart combat, he was obliged to 
leave one of his boats and make the best of his way home with 
the other two." 



216 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

" John Althouse, with 12 men, was on board a guard-boat at 
anchor in Prince's Bay, when two whale boats were descried 
under South Amboy shore. It was calm. The cable was sprung 
and a 24-pounder brought to bear, which sent a shot through 
Hyler's boat. His crew were taken in the other boat, (Dickey's") 
and all made off for New Brunswick with Gen. Jacob S. Jack- 
son, whom they had captured in South Bay, and kept prisoner 
till he was ransomed." 

The mantle of Captain Ilyler appears to have fallen on other 
shoulders after his death. The New Jersey Gazette of Novem- 
ber 13, 1782, says: "The brave Capt. Storer, commissioned as 
a private boat-of-war, under the States, and who promises fair 
to be the genuine successor of the late valiant Capt. Hyler, has 
given a recent instance of his valor and conduct in capturing 
one of the enemy's ve.ssels, and in cutting out a vessel lying 
under the iiag-staff and within half pistol shot of the battery 
of 14 guns, at the watering-place, Staten Island." 

But the years of wai' were drawing to a close. The tale of 
plunder, rapine and murder, committed under the pretext of 
war was closed, and on the 16tli of June, 1783, Adjutant Gen- 
eral De Lanrey issued from his headquarters in New York the 
proclamation by which all estates on the island were to be im- 
mediately delivered up to their proprietors or their attorneys. 
This, however, did not entirely conclude the condition of war, 
oi' abolish the presence of a soldiery. A few months of hesi- 
tancy ensued. 

On the 25th day of November, 1783, the British finally evacu- 
ated New York and Staten Island. Eight years before, thej' 
had entered the country with the expectation that, in less than 
as many months, they would overrun it from north to south, 
and trample out the rebellion. The people should be made to 
bow with abject submission befoi'e the invincible power of Great 
Britain, and humbly sue for the jjrivilege of lying in the dust 
and having her foot placed upon their necks. The march of the 
army through the land, from its beginning to its end, was to be 
an uninterrupted triumph. But they now returned overcome 
and crestfallen. The I'ebellion which they came to conquer had 
conquered them, and their overweening arrogance and pride had 
received a blow such as it had never received before nor has 
since. An eye witness of their departure described the scene as 
in the highest degree impressive. Several days before the 25th 



HISTQRY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. S17 

had been occupied in conveying the troops, cannon, tents, etc., 
from the hand to the vessels, both in New York and on Staten 
Ishuid. W^hen all was ready, they passed through the Narrows 
silently ; not a sound was heard save the rattling of the cordage. 
"We stood," he said, "on the heights at the Narrows, and 
looked down upon the decks of their ships as they jaassed. We 
were very boisterous in our demonstrations of joy ; we shouted, 
we clapped our hands, we waved our hats, we sprang into the 
air, and some few, who had brought muskets with them, fired a 
feu-dejoie. A few others, in the exuberance of their gladness, 
indulged in gestures, which, though very expressive, were 
neither polite nor judicious. The British could not look upon 
the scene without making some demonstration of resentment. 
A large seventy-four, as she was j^assing, fired a shot which 
struck the bank a few feet beneath the spot upon which we 
were standing. If we had had a cannon, we would have re- 
turned it, but as we had none, we ran away as fast as we could. 
A few rods from us stood another group, composed of men and 
women, who gazed silently, and some tearfully, upon the pass- 
ing ships, for some of the females had lovers, and some 
husbands on board of them, who wei'e leaving them behind, 
never, ju'obably, to see them again. It was long after dark 
when the last ship passed through the Nari'ows."' 

But they did not all go; .many of the soldiers, especially 
Elessians, who had no home attractions across the water, when 
they learned that peace had been declared, and that the arm.y 
would shortly leave the country, deserted, and sought places of 
concealment, from which they emerged when the power to arrest 
them had departed. Many had formed attachments which they 
were unwilling to sunder. But many more were detained by 
admiration of the country, and a desire to make for themselves 
a new home in a new world. From some of these have descend- 
ed men whose names are written in the country's history. 

Let us turn now for a brief space to review the period of the 
war and its general eifect upon the people. If the history of 
the sufferings of the people of Staten Island during the war 
could be written, it would present a picture too dreadful to 
contemplate. Neither age, sex nor condition were exempt from 
insults and outrages of the grossest character; no home was too 
sacred to protect its inmates from injury; the rights of projv 
erty were not recognized, if the invader coveted it; even the 



218 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

temples of God were desecrated; the law of mlcjht alone pre- 
vailed. Proclamations and professions of good will and protec- 
tion were repeatedly promulgated, but those who relied on 
them usually reaped disappointment. It was useless to appeal 
to those high in authority, for the complaints of the people 
were unheeded, and redress of injuries, except under pecu- 
liar circumstances, could not be obtained. If a British officer's 
horse was in need of hay or oats, a tile of soldiers was sent 
to any farmer who was known to have a supi^ly, to sieze and 
take away what was wanted. If the officer himself needed a 
horse, the same method was adopted to procure one. Money, 
provisions and even bedding and household furniture, were 
taken by force; sometimes promises of payment were made, but 
these were seldom fulfilled. The course adopted by the British 
while in possession of the island, effectually alienated many of 
the friends of the royal cause, and hence it was that so man}' 
of them, at the close of the war, eagerly took the oath of al- 
legiance to the new government, and so few adhered to the 
cause of the king, and followed its fortune. 

Numerous instances of suffering are preserved in the tradi- 
tions of some of the old families of the island. There was 
one man of local notoriety whose name is still remembered and 
mentioned by the descendants of those whose misfortune it 
was to suffer at his hands; his name was Nathaniel Robbins; 
he resided at what is now known as New Spriugville, but 
the house which he occupied was demolished many years 
ago. It stood near the corner of the roads leading to Rich- 
mond and Port Richmond, fronting on the former. He was 
an Englishman by birth, dissolute in his habits, and the terror 
not only of those who dwelt in his neighborhood, but of the 
whole county. His wife was a native of Staten Island, and a 
daughter of the widow Mary Merrill. The opinion which his 
wife's mother entertained of him may be inferred from a 
clause in her will, which was dated January 10th, 1789, and 
in which she bequeaths to her daughter Mary Robbins the 
sum of £40, " so as never to be in the power or at the command 
of Nathaniel Robbins, her present husband." His depreda- 
tions were generally committed under some disguise, which 
he supposed effectually concealed his identity, though he was 
often betrayed by his voice or some other tell-tale circumstance. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 219 

He had his associates it is true, who were also well known, but 
Robbins was regarded as the leader and soul of the gang. 

Those families residing near the sound, or " the lines," as it 
was called, suffered more from marauders than those who 
dwelt in the interior, because the opportunities for approach 
and escape there were more convenient. As part of the local 
history of the island, authenticated chiefly by family tradi- 
tions, which are accepted as reliable, several instances are 
subjoined. 

At or near Chelsea dwelt several families of the name of 
Prall,some of whose descendants are among the most respectable 
of our citizens at the present day. Among them were two 
brothers, Abraham and Peter, both prosperous farmers and 
men of substance. The house in which the former resided has 
since been considerably modernized, on the Chelsea road, at no 
great distance from the Richmond turnpike. The Chelsea road 
at that time was little better than a private lane leading to 
these residences from the main r"ad, and passing through 
dense woods. On one occasion a man who was indebted to 
Abraham Prall called on him and paid him a considerable sum 
in gold. The next evening the family were surprised by the 
approaoli of two men, who were evidently disguised. Their 
errand was at once suspected, and the old man had just time 
enough to take the money he had received out of the cupboard 
in whicli he had deposited it, and put it into his pockets. 
When the strangers entered one of them presented a pistol at 
him and said, "Prall, we know you have money, so deliver it 
up at once." He was very much alarmed, and his wife, per- 
ceiving his agitation, said, "Father, don't be alarmed, these 
men are our neighbors." She had detected the speaker by his 
voice, and knew him to be the same person who had paid the 
money the previous evening, and had seen it deposited in the 
cupboard. " Do you suppose," said the old man, "that I am 
so unwise as to keep any large sum of money in my house in 
times like these ''. You are welcome to any money you may 
lind in the house." They took him at his word, and the cup- 
board was the first place visited. 

The rest of the house was also searched, but without success. 
They then turned to go, but directed the old man to go before 
them through the lane to the public road. The path through 
the woods was intensely dark, and he managed, as he went 



220 HISTORY OF RICHMOND CorNTY. 

along, to drop his guineas, one by one, upon the ground, until 
b\^ the time they had reached the highway he had none I'emain- 
ing in his pockets. Here another effort was made to compel 
him to tell what he had done with it, but all the reply they 
could extort from him was, "The money I had in my house 
yesterday is not now in my possession." He was then searched, 
and made to solemnly swear that he would never divulge the 
circumstances of their visit, nor mention any names he might 
suspect. The oath, though by no means obligatory, he scrui^u- 
lously kept. The next morning he retraced his steps of the pre- 
vious night, and picked up every piece of his money. 

A younger member of one of these families, while on his way 
homeward, at a late hour, on horseback, near the corner of the 
Port Richmond and Signs roads, New Springville, was suddenly 
stopped by a man, who rushed out of the bushes, seized his 
horse by the bridle, and ordered him to "deliver up." The 
horse was very spirited, and with a touch of the rider's spur 
suddenly sprang forward, throwing his assailant violently to 
the ground. Then, at the utmost of his speed, he made for 
home, springing over every fence or other obstacle, until he 
reached his stable door in safety. 

At another time, two young men took a sleigh ride to the 
south side of the island. When they returned, before remov- 
ing the harness from their beasts, they ran into the house for a 
moment to warm their hands, when one of the family came run- 
ning into the room saying that somebody was taking their 
horses away. Rushing out together, they saw two men in their 
sleighs driving rapidly in the direction of the sound. As pursuit 
was useless they stood still, and saw the thieves cross the sound 
on the ice, until they reached the Jersey shore, and then dis- 
appear in the country. They never saw their horses afterward. 

Mr. John Bodine, who then lived on the present poor house 
farm, having received a considerable sum of money, suspected 
that the fact was known, and if so, that an attempt would be 
made to rob him. He therefore buried it under the step-stone 
at his back door. His suspicions proved to be well founded. 
His expected visitors made their api:»earance the following even- 
ing and demanded all the money he had in the house. It was 
in vain that he protested that there was no money in the house. 
They insisted on searching for it, but before doing so bound 
him hand and foot, and then proceeded with their villainous 



\ 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 221 

work. Nothing, however, was found. But they were not dis- 
couraged. If the money was not in the house he had concealed 
it, and must reveal the place. He concluded that if prevarica- 
tion was ever justifiable it was under just such circumstances 
as those in which he was then placed, so he persisted in his de- 
nial of haviug any or having concealed any. They threatened 
to shoot him. He told them to shoot away, he could not give 
them what he had not. Perceiving that the fear of death did 
not intimidate him, they resorted to torture. They heated a 
shovel, and proceeded to burn him on various parts of his body, 
but all in vain ; he persisted in his denial, and they finally de- 
sisted, supposing it to be improbable, if not impossible, for any 
man to endure so much agony for any amount of nionev. 

It was not only money that excited the rapacity of these 
thieves. Household furniture, clothing, linen, anything that 
had value in their eyes was ruthlessly carried away. One family 
had a vault constructed under the floor of a cider mill in which 
beds, bedding and other articles, except some of the most com- 
mon description, and in constant use, were concealed. Several 
years after the war a man who resided near " the lines," being 
on business in New Jersey, discovered in one house a mirror 
and several pictures belonging to himself, of which his house 
had been robbed during the war. 

We are indebted for the following incident to a man who 
died more than a quarter of a century ago, then in his ninetieth 
year. 

One afternoon, late in the fall, two British officers on horse 
back rode into his barn-yard, and having dismounted, entered 
the barn, and seeing two horses in their stalls, peremptorily 
ordered him to take them out and put theirs in. They then 
directed him to see that their beasts were well fed and other- 
wise cared for. From the barn they went into the house, and 
ordered the mistress to show fhem her best room. This being 
done, they proceeded to the upper part of the house, and after 
having examined every apartment, selected one, and directed 
her to prepare two beds in that room, and to see to it that they 
were clean and comfortable in all respects, and that the best 
room was furnished with everything suitable for the accommo- 
dation of gentlemen. They then descended into the cellar, and 
examined the family stores there and in the out-houses. Hav- 
ing ascertained the conveniences of the place, they ordered their 



222 HISTORY OF KIOHMOND COUNTV. 

supper to be prepared and served in the best room, informing 
her that they intended to reside there for some lime, and ex- 
pected to have their meals served regularly every day when 
they were at home. They brought no luggage with them except 
what was contained in two large valises strapped to their 
saddles. 

They remained in that house until spring. Tlieir clothes 
were thrown out every week to be washed, and by their order a 
supply of tire-wood was constantly ready at their door. They 
did not always take the trouble to put the wood on their 
own fire, frequently calling on some one of the family to do 
it for them. One of them was a tory officer from Amboy, the 
other was an Englishman. Said the old man, "They lorded it 
over our house for that whole winter, and all we had to do was 
to obey them. There was no use in complaining or remonstrat- 
ing. If we had done so, we would have been requited with a 
curse and a blow of their swords. I felt like poisoning them, 
and verily believe I should have done so if it had not been for 
fear of the consequences. They left us as unceremoniously as 
they came, without even a ' thank you ' or a ' good-bye.' " 

It is related of a young woman, the daughter of a farmer residing 
in the vicinity of the Fresh kills, while engaged one morning in 
boiling soap, two soldiers entered the kitchen and ordered her 
to prepare breakfast for them ; she declined to do so, as she 
was otherwise engaged, and could not leave her employment to 
oblige anybody. This reply excited their wrath, and one of 
them approached her with an intention of striking her. Seizing 
a large dipper, she filled it with the boiling liquid and dashed 
it at him. Perceiving her intention, he wheeled suddenly 
around and thus saved his face, but received the whole charge 
upon the back of his head and neck. His companion, fearing 
a similar reception, escaped as quickly as possible, but the 
scalded ruffian, in endeavoring to remove the hot soap, took all 
the hair off with it, which never grew again, but left the back 
of his head bald ever after. 

Another farmer in the same vicinity, while he and t)ne of his 
sons were engaged in the l)arn one morning, was suddenly 
alarmed by a cry for help from the house. Each seizing a hay- 
fork, the farmer and his son ran in and found three soldiers in 
the house, one of whom was holding one of the young women 
by the arm. They both rushed at him, first one stabbed him 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 223 

in the shoulder, aud the other in the thigh, disabling him at 
once. With the same weapons they attacked the other two, 
driving tliem all before them out of the house, and pursuing 
them for some distance down the road. 

The following romantic incident, though traditional, is well 
authenticated : 

Forty years ago or more there stood an old stone house nearly 
on the site later occupied by the residence of Capt. R. Chris- 
topher, in West New Brighton. For many years before it was 
demolished it was owned and occupied by the late Nathaniel 
Britton, Jr., but the name of the occupant during the early 
years of the revolution had entirely escaped the memory of the 
narrator. He was, however, a prominent tory, and the father 
of a daughter said to have possessed more than an ordinary de- 
gree of personal attractions. Before the commencement of the 
war she was afBanced to a young man named Mersereau, who 
resided at or near Holland's Hook. A young British lieuten- 
ant saw and admired her, and probably from the outset marked 
lier for a victim. He succeeded in becoming acquainted with 
her, and to the gratification of her father, became very assid- 
uous in his attentions. She, however, rejected his advances. 
After several months, finding he had utterly failed in impress- 
ing her with a sense of the honor (jf his alliance, he resolved to 
possess himself of lier person, at all hazards. The same young 
tory who, on another occasion, betrayed Colonel Mersereau's 
presence with his family, and who, it would appear, was some- 
what noted for his unscrupulousness, was applied to by the 
lieutenant. The plot agreed upon between them was carried 
into execution, with results as follows : 

Almost directly opposite the junction of the road from Grar- 
retson's station with the old Richmond road, then called the 
King's highway, there is a deep ravine, penetrating some dis- 
tance into Todt hill, at the farthest extremity of which there is 
a spring of water. Near this, before the war commenced, a 
solitary individual had built a rude cabin, in which he dwelt 
for several years, but when hostilities began he disappeared, 
leaving the cabin vacant. The approach to it was by a foot 
path through the dense forest which lined the hills on either 
side of the ravine. One evening the young tory called at the 
residence of the young lady, and informed her that he had been 
sent to convey her to tlie residence of her aunt, near Richmond, 



224 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

who had been taken suddenly ill, and had requested her to 
come to her. Suspecting no evil, and being much attached to 
her relative, she Avas soon ready to accompany him. Springing 
into the wagon which he had brought, she was rapidly driven 
away. When they reached the entrance to the ravine, two men 
rushed out of the bushes, seized the horse by the bridle, and 
ordered the occupants of the wagon to alight. One of them 
pretended to take possession of the driver, while the other led 
the young lady up the foot-path into the ravine, cautioning her 
that her safety de^jended upon her silence. 

So far the plot had been carried out successfully, but there 
was an avenger nearer than they suspected. They had taken 
but a few steps in the direction of the cabin, when several men 
rushed out of the bushes and seized the lieutenant, for it was 
he who had possession of the young lady. One of them took 
her hand, assuring her that they were her protectors, and that 
she need be under no apprehensions. Though they were all 
disguised, she at once recognized Mersereau by his voice. Those 
who had possession of the lieutenant proceeded to tie his hands, 
informing him that they intended to do no further harm than 
the infliction of a severe flogging ; and if he attemjjted to cry 
out they would gag him. A bundle of supple rqds was at hand, 
and two of them, one after the other, inflicted the chastisement 
which they had promised. Having punished him to their hearts' 
content, they released him, with the warning that if, after the 
expiration of a week, he was found on the island, they would 
capture him again and cut off his ears. The young lady was 
safely returned to her home by the same conveyance, but not 
tiie same driver, for he had, by some means, disappeared. The 
lieutenant also saved his ears by departure before the week ex- 
pired. How the villainous plot was discovered was never posi- 
tively known, but it was shrewedly suspected that the young 
tory had played a double part, and for a consideration had be- 
trayed his military employer. The horse and wagon remained 
in the possession of Mersereau unclaimed tor several weeks, 
but was Anally stolen one night, and never heard of after. 

There is an instance of extraordinary self-possession and 
prompt decision related of a young man named Housman, 
which probably saved his life. He resided in the vicinity of 
the Four Corners, and one morning, after a slight fall of snow 
during the nighl, he went out with his gun in quest of rabbits. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 225 

Though the people of the island, during its occapany by the 
British, were prohibited from keeping tire-arms of any descrip- 
tion in their houses, some few had succeeded in concealing guns, 
which, from the associations connected with them, or for some 
other reasons, were valuable to them. Such was the gun car- 
ried by young Tlousman on this occasion. While tramping 
through the woods, a sudden turn in the path brought him in 
sight of two soldiers, who were probably out on the same er- 
rand. They saw each other simultaneously, and each party 
stopped. The young hunter thought of the loss of his gun, and 
probably of his life also, but suddenly turning his back to the 
soldiers, he waved his hand as if beckoning to some other per- 
sons as he stepped back round the turn, and shouted out, 
"Huny up, here are two Britishers; three of you go round to 
the right, and three to the left, and the rest of you follow me ; 
hurry up, before they run away." What the "Britishers" 
had to fear we know not, but hearing these directions, and fear- 
ing there might be a small army about to surround them, thej- 
turned and fled, throwing away their arms to facilitate their 
flight. What report they made when they reached their quar- 
ters is not known, but a detachment was sent out to capture the 
young man and his army. Their surprise and mortiflcation 
must have been extreme, when at the turn in the path they 
could only And the tracks of a single individual in the snow. 

A farmer, whose name has passed into oblivion, residing " in 
the Clove," left home late one day, leaving only his wife and 
a lad of seventeen years at home. It was after dark before the 
boy completed his work about the barn, but just as he was 
coming out he saw a soldier enter the house with a musket in 
hand. Before he had time to reach the house he heard his 
mother shrieking for help. He rushed forward, and as he 
entered saw the soldier holding his mother by the throat with 
his left hand, while his right was drawn back to strike her. 
When he entered, the soldier had placed his musket by the side 
of the door in the passage ; the son seized it, and at the risk of 
shooting his mother, levelled it at the ruffian's head and sent 
a ball crashing through his brain, killing him on the spot. But 
there was still cause for alarm. If the shot had been heard, 
and should attract any person to the spot, an ex^wsure must 
necessarily follow and the lad would be executed, for no cir- 
cumstances would be admitted as justiflcation for killing a 
15 



226 HISTORY OF Richmond county. 

soldier. Fortunately, however, the noise had not been heard, 
or at least had attracted no attention. All that could now be 
done was to conceal the body until the return of the husband 
and father in the morning. This was done by dragging it under 
the stairs, where it was not likely to be seen by any person but 
themselves. The next morning, when the farmer returned, he 
removed a part of his barn floor, under which he dug a grave; 
and after dark the evening following the body was thrown 
into it, and the musket also, and buried, and there they j^rob- 
ably remain to this day. The family kept their own secret until 
after the close of the war, and the evacuation of the island by 
the British. 

A man named Cole, residing in Southfield, was the proprietor 
of a remarkably fine gray horse. Several of the officers of the 
army had offered to purchase him, but he declined to part with 
him at any price. He had before sold a horse to an officer, who 
had promised to pay for him within two months, but two years 
had passed, and the debt was not yet discharged. At another 
time a Hessian officer, who had been quartered upon him for a 
short time, when he left, forcibly took away another horse, and 
Cole had repeatedly vowed that no other officer should have 
another horse of his unless he stole him ; he would shoot him 
first — the horse, not the officer. Early one bright winter even- 
ing he heard a commotion in his stable, and, always on the 
alert, he thrust two pistols in his pockets and hastened out. 
At the stable door he saw two soldiers atteniptiag to put a 
halter on the head of his favorite horse. "Hi, there," he 
cried, "what are you going to do with that horse 1" "Going 

to take him away," replied one of them; "Colonel 

wants him, and sent us to get him." " Well," said Cole, "you 
just make up you minds that neither you nor the colonel shall 
take that horse away without my consent." "Stand aside, 
you d — d rebel," said one of them, as Cole attempted to take 
the horse from them, at the same time pointing a bayonet at 
him, "or I'll make a hole through your heart." Without far- 
ther reply, he drew one of his pistols and shot the horse 
through the head ; "There, you infernal thieves," he exclaimed 
as he threw the pistol down, "now you may take him." For 
a moment the soldiers were amazed as they gazed on the 
struggles of the dying animal, but soon recovering themselves, 
they prepared to rush upon him with their bayonets, when Cole, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COIJXTY. 227 

presenting the Other pistol, exdaimed, " Come on, you thieves 
and robbers, with your bayonets, and I'll drop one of you at 
least." The soldiers considering discretion, in this instance, 
the better part of valor, turned and walked away, threatening 
him with the vengeance of the colonel. ''Go tell your master," 
said Cole, as he followed them to the gate, " that I'll serve him, 
or you, or any other thief who comes upon my premises at 
night to steal my property, as I served that horse." 

The majority of the English, of all ranks, regarded the colo- 
nists as physically, intellectually and morally inferior to them- 
selves. In their social intercourse with them as well as in their 
plundering, they made but little distinction between loyalists 
and rebels. But there were some exceptions. Among the 
officers of the British army were some who were gentlemen by 
nature and by culture, and a few were eminently pious men, 
who found no difficulty in reconciling their obligations to their 
king with their duty to their Maker. These two latter classes 
were ever ready to listen to the complaints of the oppressed, 
and as far as lay in their power, to redress the wrongs of the 
injured. 

Of this class was Captain John Yoke, of whom the following 
anecdote has been preserved. He was billeted upon a farmer 
in the vicinity of Richmond for some two or three months, and, 
unlike many other officers, regularly paid for his board and 
lodging. A few days after he had removed his quarters, the 
farmer came to him and informed him that daring the previous 
night his house had been entered and robbed of a sum of money, 
and that he suspected that it had been done by soldiers, be- 
cause beneath the window through which the house had been 
entered, and which had been left open, he had found a button, 
by means of which, perhaps, the culprits might be delected. 
The captain took the button and promised to give the matter 
his immediate attention. The button indicated the regiment as 
well as the company to which the loser of it belonged. During 
the parade that same day, he closely scrutinized the company 
indicated, and found a soldier with a button missing on the 
front of his coat. After parade he communicated his suspicions 
to the colonel of the regiment, and the soldier was sent for. 
When he arrived, the colonel, using a little artifice, informed 
him that he suspected him of being implicated in a drunken 
brawl the night before at a tavern a mile or two distant. This 



228 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

the soldier denied, saying that he could prove he was nowhere 
near that tavern, or even in that direction, during the night pre- 
vious. " Were you out last night?" inquired the colonel; 
"Well — yes," answered the soldier, "but not in that direc- 
tion." "Where were you?" "In various places, but not at 
that tavern." "By whom can you prove that you were not 
at that tavern " The name of another soldier was mentioned, 
and the colonel sent for him. When he arrived, he corroborated 
all the tirst had said, adding that they two had been together 
all the night. " Then," said the colonel, " you two are the burg- 
lars who entered the house of Mr. through a window last 

night, and robbed him of twenty guineas. Lay down the money 
upon this table, or you shall both be executed for burglary and 
robbery." The affrighted soldiers, taken by surprise, confessed 
their crime, and each placed ten guineas upon the table. What 
punishment was meted out to the culprits is not related, but 
Captain Voke had the satisfaction of returning the money to 
the owner thereof in less than twenty-four hours after it had 
been stolen. 

Though there were, in the royal army, both among the Eng- 
lish and Hessians, a great many idle, dissolute and very wicked 
men, officers as well as privates, there were also among them 
many exemplary and industrious men, some of whom were me- 
chanics and some agriculturists. An army doing garrison duty 
has generally a good deal of idle time, which was employed by 
these men to their own profit and advantage. Shoemakers, for 
instance, frequentlj^ made boots and shoes for the officers and 
their families, when they had any, and for the citizens of the 
county ; and were permitted to take their surplus work to the 
city to sell to dealers, for all of which they were generally well 
paid. The government supplying all their personal wants, the 
money thus earned accumulated until, at the close of the war, 
many had large sums at their command. It was generally this 
class who contrived to stay behind, purchase land, or commence 
business on their own account, sometimes, it is said, under as- 
sumed names. Some of the agriculturists obtained permis- 
.sion from the neighboring farmers to clear and cultivate an acre 
or two of land which the owners, in many instances, had con- 
sidered worthless, because it was overgrown with bushes and 
briars, and would cost more to clear, as they said, tlian the land 
was worth. It is said that these industrious men literally made 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 229 

the wilderness " blossom as the rose." By a thrifty system of 
culture which they applied they were able to produce, as a ven- 
erable informant declared, "more from a single acre than I 
could raise on five." 

That there was no lack of patriots on the island during the 
war is shown by the following anecdote : 

A man named Taylor^not of the Staten Island family of that 
name — came over from New York, and took up his abode here 
for the avowed purpose of trading with the Englisli vessels. He 
carried on the business for several months openly, and in defiance 
of all the cautions he had received by means of anonymous letters, 
which he openly exhibited in public jjlaces, and held up to ridi- 
cule. He defied any power which the rebels possessed to pre- 
vent his doing as he pleased in the matter of trading with the 
ships. One very dark and stormy night, five men entered his 
dwelling unannounced. They were all disguised, and while a 
part of them seized and bound him, the remainder per- 
formed the same service for his wife. With pistols at their 
heads, they were cautioned to make no outcry. Having se- 
cured Taylor, they led him to his own barn, put a noose around 
his neck, threw the rope over one of the beams, and hoisted 
him from the floor by his neck ; then having fastened the rope 
to a post, left him and went their way. 

His wife hearing the men depart, apprehended something ser- 
ious had occurred, and made most desperate efforts to loose the 
thongs which bound her, and finally succeeded. Fortunately a 
lighted lantern stood in an adjoining room, which she seized 
and ran into the barn, where she found her worst apprehensions 
realized by seeing her husband struggling in the agonies of 
death. Finding she could not untie the knot ai'ound the 
manger post, she found a hatchet, with which she cut the rope 
and let him down upon the floor. Having removed the noose 
around his neck, and finding him insensible, she ran to a neigh- 
boring house for assistance, and at length succeeded in restor- 
ing him to consciousness. Two or three days afterward Taylor 
removed back again to New York, but he was accompanied by 
a guard of soldiers all the way to the city. 

At some time between the cessation of actual hostilities and 
the evacuation by the British, the following incident is said to 
have occurred : 

There were many ships of war lying at anchor in various 



230 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



parts of the harbor, mostly in the vicinity of the city ; 
there were some, however, which lay in, and even beyond the 
Narrows, and these were anchored as near the shores of Long and 
Staten Islands, as could safely be done, for the convenience of 
easy access to the land in all conditions of the weather, in order 
that the officers might obtain supplies of butter, vegetables, etc., 
from the farms in the vicinity. One day a boy, some seventeen 
or eighteen years of age, was in search of some stray cattle in 
the woods near the water, and saw a ship's boat with two sailors 
approaching. Supposing he might as well keep out of their 
sight in that solitary place, he concealed himself behind a large 
tree ; he saw them land, and while one of them remained in 
chai'ge of the boat, the other, with a basket in his hand, en- 
tered the wood. After having proceeded a few rods, until he 
was out of sight of his companion, and of everybody else, as 
he supi:)osed, he took off his coat, knelt down at the foot of a 
large, gnarled tree, and, with an instrument resembling a ma- 
son's trowel, dug a hole in the earth, and having deposited 
something therein, carefully filled the hole again with earth, 
and laid a large flat stone upon it. This done he arose to his 
feet, and took a long and careful survey of the surroundings, 
then proceeded on his way. The youth kept in his place of 
concealment for two full hours, when he saw the sailor return- 
ing with his basket appai-ently filled with vegetables. He 
passed b}' the place where he had dug the hole, scrutinized 
it closely, and then proceeded to the boat, which was still in 
waiting for him, and returned to the ship. Assuring himself 
that the coast was clear, the young man went to the place, re- 
opened the hole, and found therein a heavy canvas bag, evi- 
dently containing, as he judged by its sound, a quantity of 
money. Securing the prize, and without waiting to re-fill the 
hole, he hastened away, and found some other place of deposit, 
known only to himself. A day or two thereafter posters were 
put up in every public place, offering a large reward for the 
recovery of three hundred guineas, which had been stolen from 
one of his majesty's ships, being the property of the govern- 
ment, and an additional reward for the detection of the thief, 
but the boy kept his own counsel. The theft occasioned a good 
deal of talk at the time, but it was soon forgotten in the ex- 
citement consequent upon the declaration of peace and the 
preparations for the departure of the British from the country. 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 231 

For nearly four years the young man kept his own secret, at 
which time he had attained his majority ; and then, when he 
purchased a farm for himself, and paid for it, did he first re- 
veal, to his parents only, the manner in which he obtained his 
means. 

During the whole time of their occupancy of the island the 
British kept a lookout on some convenient elevation for the 
arrival of vessels. At one time a sentinel was stationed in the 
top of '' a large chestnut tree which grew upon the summit of 
the island, about a mile from a small wooden church which 
stood near the King's highway." There is a tradition confirma- 
tory of this statement, which says that the British kept a num- 
ber of soldiers on the top of Todt hill to guard the road and to 
keep a lookout over the land and water. From the locality 
indicated this might have been done very easily, for it com- 
mands a view of the outer bay and Sandy Hook in one direc- 
tion, and the kills, and 'New Jersey beyond, in another. The 
sentinel in the tree was provided with a platform upon which 
to stand, and signals to elevate iipon a pole lashed to the high- 
est limb of the tree. This i)Osition was a perilous one in a 
heavy wind, and peculiarly so daring a thunder storm. It is 
said that on one occasion a soldier on duty in that elevated 
place was overtaken by a sudden storm of rain, thunder and 
lightning. The ladder by which he had ascended was blown 
out of his reach, and he was unable to escape from the dangers 
which surrounded him. When the storm had passed away his 
body was found on the ground beneath the tree, with his 
neck broken; and certain livid marks on his p*^rson, together 
with the condition of the tree itself, indicated that he had been 
stricken by lightning and fallen to the ground. About a month 
afterward another storm passed over the same locality, and the 
lookout descended from his elevation as quickly as possible, 
but he had no sooner reached the ground than the tree was 
again struck, and he was killed at its foot. After that the 
place of lookout was changed, and brought down the hill 
neai-er the church, probably in the vicinity of the light house. 
The following season the doomed tree was again struck, and 
riven to splinters. 

An aged man named Britton, residing in Southfield, with his 
wife and granddaughter, a young lady about seventeen years 
of age, were seated before a bright fire on the hearth, one chilly 



232 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

autumn evening. On a table stood a mug of cider, and in the 
fire was one end of a long iron rod, with which, after heating it, 
the old man was in the habit of " mulling " his cider, a bever- 
age of which he partook every evening before retiring. AVhile 
thus waiting the outer door suddenly opened and a huge Hes- 
sian soldier entered. After regarding the family group for a 
moment, he walked to the corner in which the young lady was 
sitting, and seated himself beside her. "Hey, missy," said 
he, attempting to put his arm around her waist, "how 
j'ou like a big Dutchman for a husband, hey?" " Go away, 
you Dutch brute," said she. " Oh, no," he answered renew- 
ing his attempt at familiarity, " me not go away yet." "Go 
away," she repeated, " or I shall hurt you." Laughing at this 
Ihreat he persisted in annoying her, until suddenly she 
stooped down, and seizing the iron rod, thrust the red hot end 
of it into his face. He uttered a yell, and in the effort to spring 
up, fell over his chair. She continued her assault upon him, 
by pushing the rod into any part of his person she could reach 
and when he regained his feet and made for the door, she con- 
tinued to pursue him, even follownng him out of doors. He 
made repeated attempts to strike her, but her rod being longer 
than his arm, effectually prevented him from touching her. 
He also attempted to seize the rod, but it was too hot to hold, 
and every such effort only burned him the more. Foiled at 
every jwint, he turned and ran away. 

During the war British officers were quartered at the house 
of a Mrs. Dissosway, near the present site of Tottenville. Her 
husband was a prisoner in the hands of the British. Captain 
Nathaniel Fitz Randolph, who was very troublesome to the 
British, was her brother. A tory colonel once promised to 
procure the release of her husband if she would prevail upon 
her brother to remain quietly at home and become a neutral 
party. "And if I could" she replied, with a look of scorn, 
at the same time drawing up her tall figure to its utmost height, 
" if I could act so dastardly a part, think you that General 
Washington has but one Captain Randolph in his armyf 

On one occasion after the establishment of independence, it 
is related that several families of those who had suffered dur- 
ing the war were returning from a religious service in sleighs. 
As they approached the house of a certain tory captain, they 
all drew up in front, and Dissosway, the leader, went to the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTT. 233 

front door and with the butt of his driving whip rapped. 
When liis call was answered by the captain the former ex- 
plained, " We stopped to let you know we rebels have been to 
church. It is our turn now to give thanks." 

A Mrs. Jackson resided on the island during the war. Her 
husband was for nine months in the provost, and for two years 
afterward on parole. During his absence the house was the 
abode of British officers and soldiei-s. One day this resolute 
woman caught a soldier carrying her tin milk pail through the 
house to take it to his master, who wished to bathe his feet in 
it. Seizing the pail and tearing it from his grasp she fearlessly 
retorted, "Not for yoiir master's master shall you touch what 
you have no business with." This lady used to send provis- 
ions to the American army on the opposite shore. To do this 
the utmost secrecy was i-equired. To avoid suspicion she would 
often set her husband's mill going and attend to it herself while 
the black man who usually performed that service left his work 
to go across the river with provisions. One day she kept a 
fatted calf muzzled under her bed all day to send it to the 
Americans at night. On one occasion she received intelligence 
that the Americans were coming to surprise and capture the 
British who were lodged in her house. She gave no warning to 
the latter till the whig force was just at hand; then, not wish- 
ing to have a bloody contest in her house, she told them the 
whigs were coming. " Run, gentlemen, run, or you are all pris- 
oners." They did run, without ceremony, but the whigs were 
upon them. 

After Jackson's return the house was robbed. A knock was 
heard at the door one night, and on opening it a disguised man 
apjjeared, with a pistol which he p)laced at the head of Mr. 
Jackson andenjoined silence under pain of instant death. A little 
daughter standing by involuntarily screamed out, when one of 
the ruffians struck her a blow on the head, which laid her in- 
sensible on the floor. The house was then stripped of what- 
ever articles the thieves desired to take away. Their path next 
morning could be traced by the articles they had dropped by 
the way in their haste as they departed. The family believed 
they were a band of tories, who were often more cruel and ra- 
pacious than the British soldiers. 

The following incident is related as being one of the most 
daring exploits of the revolution. A colonel of the American 



234 HISTORY OF RICUMOND COUNTY. 

army having been taken prisoner, and tliere being no British 
otEcer of a similar grade in their possession with whom to re- 
deem him, three men entered upon the perilous enterprise of 
taking a colonel from the very midst of the enemy then sta- 
tioned on Staten Island. They crossed the sound on a dark 
night, and approached the house where several officers were lo- 
cated, but found it strongly guarded. Proceeding with the 
utmost caution they were able to evade the guard in the dark- 
ness, and approaching the house took their stand near a window, 
through which they could see what was going on within. 
Watching a favorable opportunity they entered the house, and 
placing a pistol to the breast of a colonel they ordered him to 
march out as their prisoner, threatening to shoot him in case 
he made the least noise or resistance. They took him away 
from his companions, out through the guai'd by which the 
house was encircled, and delivered him safely in Elizabethtown 
by sunrise the next morning. One of the men who performed 
this daring feat was Henry Willis, who died about forty years 
since, but of the names of the other two we are ignorant. 

The murder of Stephen Ball and its attendant circumstances 
are so intimately associated with Staten Island that we may be 
excused for introducing here an account of the matter. Ball 
was in the habit of supplying some of the British on Staten 
Island with such beef and other provisions as he had to sell. 
Upon one occasion a tory sent out from the British as a spy, 
had been taken by the Americans, tried by a regular court mar- 
tial and, being found guilty, was hung. One Hetfield, the 
leader of a notorious band of ruffians, vowed vengeance by re- 
taliation, and the next time Ball came to the island they 
seized him. This Avas in January, 1781. He was taken before 
General Patterson, and then before General Skinner, charged 
with being a spy, but they both knew his mission on the 
island and refnsed to try him, directing his release. The Het- 
field gang, however, were determined to execute their threats 
of vengeance, and accordingly, after robbing him of whatever 
valuable articles he had with him, took him over to Bergen Point 
and there hung him to a tree. This act of independent violence 
appears to have been deprecated by the British authorities as 
well as the Americans, from the fact that the victim was acting 
no partisan character, but simply engaged in a commercial 
transaction. The party engaged in it consisted of Cornelius, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 235 

John, Smith, Job and James Hetfield, Elias and Samuel Mann 
and Job Smith, all of New Jersey. 

At the close of the war, Staten Island, New York island, and 
a part of Long Island, were peculiarly circumstanced; through- 
out the country the several state governments, and the minor 
county and town governments under them had been organized, 
and were in full operation, except in the counties mentioned ; 
these had been under the control of the British military au- 
thorities, and whatever civil government thej' had continued 
to be under the English laws ; any attempt to organize a gov- 
ernment which had the least tincture of republicanism would 
not have been tolerated a moment ; therefore, when the English 
evacuated the country, the government which had directed its 
destinies for a century, was, so far as these counties were con- 
cerned, annihilated as it were in a day, and the people, without 
any previous instruction or experience, were suddenly brought 
under the influences of a new code of laws. It would be inter- 
esting to trace the steps taken by the people of the island to 
acclimate themselves to the political atmosphere which they 
were thereafter to inhale, but here the resources fail. 

In proportion to its population, Perth Amboy contained more 
tories than any other place within the limits of the state of 
New Jersey. Many of them enlisted in the regiment known as 
the Queen's Rangers, and in the several companies composing 
Colonel Billop's regiment. We have been able to obtain the 
names of but two of the captains of the companies, viz.: Abra- 
ham Jones, a native Staten Islander, and David Alston, an 
Englishman or Scotchman by birth, but for years before the war 
a resident of New Jersey, in the vicinity of Rahway, and, after 
the war, of Staten Island. Many of the British officers, in all 
parts of the country, remained after the cessation of hostilities, 
but many more of the rank and file. This was particularly so 
on Staten Island, and many of the families now residing here 
are the descendants of these officers and soldiers. There were 
not as many tories on the island at the close as at the beginning 
of the war. 

It is, after all, a doubtful matter whetlier there were many of 
the people on Staten Island who were really tories from prin- 
cii^le. The Seaman and Billop families, and two or three others 
not quite so prominent, were all beneficiaries of the British 
government; they were the proprietors of large and valuable 



236 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

estates bestowed upon them for merely nominal consideration; 
tliey were also the incumbents of lucrative offices, which gave 
them a power and an influence which otherwise they would not 
have possessed. The British officers, both of the army and 
navy, were lavish of their gold, and the people of the island, 
so far as money was concerned, were never in better circum- 
stances. The temptation then to infringe the resolutions of the 
pnn'incial congress, prohibiting all intercourse with the vessels 
of the enemy, was irresistible, more especially as the congress 
was powerless to enforce its own ordinances, or to punish the 
infraction of them. 

The injustice and cruelty of the British during the war, and 
the frequent disrespect of their own promises, often repeated, 
as well as the inhumanity with which they treated the American 
prisoners who fell into their hands, had caused many to regret 
the step they had taken in publicly advocating the cause of 
the crown, and gradually they became converts to the cause 
of their native country, so that when the end came, there 
were few left who declined to take the oath of allegiance to 
the new government, and fewer still who were so infatuated 
with royaltj'' as to abandon their property and the land of 
their nativity, to follow its fortunes. Of this latter class we 
have been able to find but two families, the Billops and the 
Seamans. The jn-operty of these families was confiscated and 
sold by Isaac Stoutenburgh and Philip Van Courtland, com- 
missioners of forfeiture for the Southern district of New York. 
On the 16th day of July, 1784, they sold to Thomas McFarren, 
of New York, the Manor of Bentley, containing 850^ acres for 
£4,695 ($11,737.50) forfeited to the people of this state by the 
attainder of Christopher Billop. The boundaries given in this 
conveyance are as follows: "Bounded southerly by the Bay or 
water called Prince's Bay, westerly by the river that runs be- 
tween the said Land and Amboy, Northerly partly by the Land 
of Jabob Reckhow and partly by the road, and Easterly jiartly 
by the road and partly by the Bay." The land was then occu- 
pied in different parcels by different individuals as follows: 373 
acres by Samuel Ward; 200 acres by Albert Ryckman; 50 acres 
b\' John Manner; 50 acres by Edmund Wood; 50 acres by An- 
drew Prior; 25 acres by James Churchward; 67|^ acres by Benja- 
min Drake; 23J acres by Joseph Totten; and 11^ acres by Jacob 
Reckhow. ' 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



237 



On the same day, the same commissioners sold to the same 
individual, for £1,120.16 ($2,802), about eighty acres of land in 
the town of Castleton, consisting of eight lots, all bounded 
southerly by "a road leading from the Rose and Crown to Don- 
gan's Mill," which tract of land was forleited by the attainder 
of Benjamin Seaman. 

On the 30th day of April, 1785, the same commissioners sold 
to Cornelius C. Rosevelt, of New York, two hundred acres 
of land, more or less, for £3,000 ($7,500), forfeited to the 
people of this state by the attainder of ^Benjamin Seaman, 
the same being then in the possession of Paul Micheau. 




OLD iilUTlSlI 1()1;T. 



The policy of the government of the United States appears 
always to have been of a pacific and conciliatory character 
toward its enemies, after they had been subdued and rendered 
powerless for evil. All tories, as well as foreign foes, were 
permitted to take a position among the citizens of the country 
upon taking the oath of allegiance. All animosities were 
buried, and the descendants of a great number of these re- 
pentant royalists, now residing on the island, are ignorant of 
the position their ancestors took in the great political ques- 
tions which agitated the country a century ago. 

Some marks of tlie British occupancy of the island have 
remained to designate the localities of their encampments and 



238 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

the scenes of some of their active operations. One of the 
most conspicuous of these evidences is the old fort which oc- 
cupies a commandino; hill to the west of Richmond. The site 
overlooks the valley in which mainly lies the village. The 
embankment encloses a space about fifty feet square and is 
situated near the brow of a hill which descends by a steep 
slope nearly three hundred feet to the salt marshes which lie 
at the base. The earth works, now beaten down by the ravages 
of a century, are still several feet in height, in the form of a 
square, facing the three directions in which the hill overlooks 
the surrounding country, while the entrance to the fort was 
from the fourth side, on the northwest, where the natural grade 
renders approach easy. 

More than thirty years ago Major Howard found a consider- 
able excavation in or under the hill that rises just west of Nau- 
tilus Hall at Tompkinsville. Being anxious to know its origin, 
he made numerous inquiries but without success until he was. 
referred to an old black man, about eighty years of age, who, 
on being shown to the spot, explained that it was the saw pit 
where the British sawed timber for their barracks. The negro 
had often seen them engaged in that work. The hills were 
covered with a thick growth of heavy white oak timber 
which the British cut away, and subsequently pine and cedar 
came in and occupied the ground. The British had here a 
cantonment for seven thousand men extending along the foot 
of the hill and up the ravine partially followed by the present 
course of Arietta street. The timber was cut down to build 
these barracks. The troops were here for seven years, and as 
the old black man remarked, "On fine days and in summer 
the hills would be just covered with the red coats." 

As late as 1832 the remains of some of the dwelling places of 
the Hessian soldiers were distinctly to be seen along the 
Richmond road, at the foot of the hill in the rear of Stapleton. 
These consisted of excavations in the side of the hill, eight or 
ten feet square, which had been covered with planks or pieces 
of timber, upon whicli earth or sods were placed to form roofs. 
The fronts had been boarded up, and probably the sides. How 
they had been warmed in winter or whether they had been 
warmed at all was not apparent. They must have been miser- 
ably dark, damp caves, but probably, in the opinion of their 
English masters, good enough for Dutch mercenaries. 



HISTORY OF KICHMOXD COUNTY. 239 

In clusiug this chapter of revolutionary history, we can per- 
haps give no more lifelilve pictures of those times in general 
than may be gathered from the substance of interviews with 
living witnesses who gave their impressions and recollections 
of many scenes and events that passed under their notice. The 
facts gathered at a few such interviews with persons then liv- 
ing at advanced ages, but now long since dead, were noted 
down by Professor Charles Anthon, more than thirty years 
ago — about the years 1850 to 1853; and from the notes of 
those interviews we have condensed the most interesting items 
referring to the revolution, in the following paragraphs. These 
facts are given as nearly as may be to the manner and form of 
their development in the interview, without regard to any 
order in matters of time or topic, or even harmony of state- 
ment. 

From a conversation with Captain Blake, March 15, 1851 : 
He was about 13 years old when the British landed. It was 
three or four days before any of them were seen where he lived. 
Then four soldiers came along and said they wanted something 
to eat. When they had finished they each threw down a half 
dollar, to the great surprise of the people. The soldiers in gen- 
eral behaved at first very well, paying for everything that they 
took, but when they came back from Jersey they stole every- 
thing they could lay their hands on. In general the people 
were well treated. Fifteen pence was the price for a dozen 
eggs. The cun-ency used was principally English. Dollars 
passed for 4s. 6d. The soldiers were very liberal. All the 
vacant buildings were occupied by them. At Ryers' there was 
a "Fives' Court," a kind of game at which the British ofBcers 
spent a great deal of time in playing. During this time a man 
by the name of Housman occupied the old Dongan manor 
house. The Hessians wore large whiskers, coming up to the 
corners of the mouth. He once saw two Hessians receive two 
hundred lashes apiece. They used to come around and buy 
cattle. The Fortj^-second regiment lay in Bodine's orchard. 
They were Scotch and wore the Highland uniform. The Het- 
fields were all robbers. There were several brothers of them. 
They frequently brought over thirty or forty head of cattle 
from Jersey to the British. On one occasion they threw a man 
into a hog-pen and required him to eat corn. On his refusal to 
do so they took him out and hammered his toe-nails off. 



240 HisrroRV of Richmond county. 

Decker's house was on the site of the Port Richmond hotel 
(now St. James). It was of brick. At the time of the invasion 
under Sullivan tlie Americans burned it. The Dutch church 
was burned on the same occasion. Mr Blalve's father was cross- 
ing the mill-dani, and when he readied the west side he came 
all at once among the Americans. They remained there until 
the British troops aiipeared with light-horse. 'I'hey fired and 
killed a light-horseman, then ran away through the woods like 
so many frightened horses. 

From an interview with Rev. Dr. Van Pelt, June 5, 18.51 : 
A man stopped at his house about the year 1804, he then living 
in the Port Richmond hotel. That man said he was in the en- 
gagement at the Dutch church. The weather was cold, but the 
heat of the action caused them to sweat profusely. The church, 
which was like a hay stack in form, was completely riddled by 
balls. Dr. Van Pelt said that when the war broke out there 
were two other Dutch churches on the island ; one in VVestlield 
and another at Richmond. The latter had just been completed 
when the war broke out. It was a frame building, and the 
British used it gradually up for firewood. Judge Micheau was 
a witness of this, but was afraid to say anything, lest he should 
be suspected of disaffection. The few on the island who were 
attached to the American cause belonged generally to the Dutch 
church. Many persons living here professed attachment to the 
British, but secretly sent very valuable information to General 
Washington. A Mr. Latourette was engaged in carrying wood 
to the city during the hard winter of 1779-80, as long as a pas- 
sage remained open, and would often enable American officers de- 
tained as prisoners in the sugar house to escape. It was neces- 
sary for every one who wished to leave the city to present him- 
self to General Howe for permission to do so. Latourette would 
go before the general with these officers in disguise, and say, 
" General, I have brought you a fine load of wood, and am go- 
ing directly down for more ; I have some countrymen here who 
would like to go with me." The general would give them a 
hasty look and say, "Let them ail pass." Then they would 
go aboard the boat and make sail for Staten Island. At the 
mouth of the kills an armed vessel was stationed to examine 
all boats that passed, but Latourette being well known was 
allowed to pass without examination under the plea that he 
was in a hurry to bring another load of wood to General Howe. 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 241 

So havin,i^ the officers secreted in the vessel he was able to land 
them safely where they conld easily effect their escape. 

From an interview with Mrs. Bird, November 22, 1851, she 
then being 91 years of age : — She was 15 years old when the 
Bi'itish landed. They landed mostly at Van Bnskirk's dock. 
As they were landing they interchanged rifle shots with the 
Americans on the opposite shore of the kills. The first she saw 
of the British was a body of Highlanders who came marching 
up into the Clove (where she was living), from the direction of 
Van Duzer's ferry in quest of lodging. Some of them were 
quartered in their barn. She lived with her adoptive father, 
Thomas Seaman, whose house at that time was the first one on 
the left, as you turn out of the clove road into the Little Clove. 
General Knyphausen was a very fine looking man and used to 
ride a great white horse. The Hessians were all fine looking 
men. Their dress was nearly all blue, and both dress and ac- 
coutrements were very heavy. Some wore beards and some did 
not. During the war the people along the north shore did not 
dare to burn lights at night, even in cases of sickness or other 
extreme need, lest they should be suspected of showing signals 
to the rebels. People in general had to be very discreet, and 
keep their mouths shut. "Parson Charlton" of St. Andrew's 
church wore a very white wig. The "Rose and Crown"" was a 
public house during the war, and the headquarters for tiuit part 
of the island. The "Black Horse" was also a tavern then. 
The Queen's Rangei's were then stationed at the point since 
called the "Telegraph." There was a Presbyterian meeting 
house in the west quarter, which the British first converted into 
a hospital and then destroyed. 

From an interview with Mr. Isaac Simonson, December 26, 
1851, he being 90 years of age :— The camp on Staten Island be- 
fore the revolution, to wliich the troops came on their return 
from Canada, in the time of the French war, was at the quaran- 
tine or watering place. At the time of the revolution, General 
Howe, within a few days after landing, employed Isaac Decker, 
a noted man and a great friend of the British, who was a captain 
of the light horse, to go all over the island and direct the farm- 
ers who were willing to dispose of their cattle or sheep, of 
which there were a great number on the island, to drive them 
to the watering place. None were taken by force. When the 
farmers had brought them they were all paid by the officer 

16 



242 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

whose duty it was to attend to tliat business. When these cat- 
tle arrived at the watering place they were turned into the Helds 
of the " Glebe," among the young oats and wheat, and mowing 
grass. Guards were stationed to watch them, as the fences were 
all destroyed, not a rail being left in three months. At that 
time things were very cheap. After the British came prices 
more than doubled. 

The next day after the British landed, Mr. Simonson, with 
some other boys, went down to what is now Port Richmond to 
see them. They landed during the night. When the fleet ap- 
proached the Lower bay they anchored outside of Sandy Hook 
to wait for pilots to bring them in. The same Isaac Decker, 
before mentioned, was a fisherman, and with others of the same 
occupation who accompanied him, went down and brought in 
the ships. Decker piloted them to a landing place, and lauded 
himself in the first boat. The spot was called the "White 
Rock." The exploit made Decker suddenly famous in a local 
way. The church at Port Richmond had eight corners and then 
went up high to a balcony, above which was a steeple which 
contained a bell. The sides were shingled from the gi'ound up. 
The soldiers lived in it. The building finally blew down, no one 
being in it at the time. The Isaac Decker spoken of lived in 
the house known as Decker's which was burned at the time of 
Sullivan's invasion. At that time the Americans burned this 
house and three vessels, also Dongan's or John Bodine's barn, 
in which the British had a hospital, which was afterward rebuilt 
after the same model and on the same foundation, by John C. 
Dongan. When the Americans had got out of the woods and 
on the meadows they halted, while the forts on the Jersey side 
near Elizabeth town fired on the British, who were still on the 
upland and had no cannon. Cole's ferry was the same as Van 
Duzer's and Darby Doyle's. 

After the revolution all about the quarantine grounds was 
commons. Colonel Billop was a tall, slim man. His father-in- 
law. Seaman, owned a large tract in the manor, off which he 
sold the wood. Toward the latter part of the revolution he had 
teams cutting and carting there. The inhabitants commonly 
worked on the roads on Saturdays. One very warm day Mr. 
Isaac Simonson remembered working in company with others 
on the road that runs down from Four Corners to the north side, 
when Colonel Billop and Colonel Seaman came along, riding on 



HISTORY OF KIOUMOND COUNTY. 243 

horseback. They stopped and chatted with the road-master, 
and gave something to tlie men, as was then customary, but 
the men were dissatisfied with the smallness of the gift. 

John and Peter Latourette lived at Fresh kill. Thej^ were 
great patriots, and when the British came, lied to Jersey, whence 
they used to make visits in whale-boats to the island. Many 
of the inhabitants of the island were placed in confinement by 
the British, on account of being whigs. Among these were 
Hezekiah and Abraham Reckhow, brothers of Mr. Simonson's 
wife's mother. They were both at first confined in the guard- 
house in the fort at Dr. Westervelt's, but her father succeeded 
in getting the former out, as he was subject to fits. Abraham 
was taken from the guard-house to the prison ship, " Jei-sey," 
where he suffered greatly. Mrs. Peter Woglam was put into 
the same guard-house for standing up for her husband, but 
having friends on the other side who interceded for her, she 
was released. Those Staten Islanders who were thus confined 
were principally from the west quarter (Westfield). The guard- 
house mentioned was very dark and partly under ground. 
General Skinner lived within or about a hundred yards north 
from the fort. The British had redoubts all along the heights. 
There were no prisoners kept at the fort that was located near 
the site of the pavilion. The property at the entrance of the 
kills was occupied by Judge Ryers as a farm before the war. 
He sold it to Buskirk. It was not a regular ferry till the 
war, when one Mackatee hired it. 

Joshua Mersereau was the first militia colonel on Staten Is- 
land. The old colonel was no friend to the British, but to his 
country. The enemy wei'e after him two or three times. He 
had notice of their coming and hid himself in a swamp. The 
Hethelds were a rough set of men "and feared neither God nor 
Devil." Cornelius, their leader, held a major's commission 
from the British. They accused Ball of being one of those who 
killed Long. Ball was a trader who brought things such as 
poultry, beef, and the like from the Jersey side. The Het- 
field's caught him and took him to Mackatee's. They took 
him at Squire Merrill's, and intending at first only to make a 
prize of his wagon load of beef, poultry, etc., they told him to 
go on and they would follow with his wagon, but he would not 
leave it. They took him to General Skinner, at the fort at the 
Narrows, but he would have nothing to do with him, but told 



244 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

them, " He is your prisoner ; do what yon please with him." 
They took him across tlie kills ; got a table from Ham Britton's 
at the mill on this side ; placed the table under a big tree and 
stood Ball upon it; then, having fastened a noose about his neck 
and tied it to a limb, they kicked the the table from beneath 
his feet and hung him till he was dead. Mrs. Simonson saw it 
from the Staten Island side. Jake Hetfield kicked the table 
from under the feet of Ball. They all belonged to Jersey, e.\'- 
cept one called "Tow-head Jim," who was also born in Jersey, 
but served his time as a ship-carpenter on Staten Island. Long 
was the man who was hove into the hog-pen. He was on the 
British side, and was caught in Jersey. John and Cornelius 
Hetfield were both afterward tried for the murder of Ball, but 
neither was condemned. The Hetfields were not all brothers. 
Cornelius was an only son. He was a fine looking man, with 
dark hair, fair skin, and fine, ivory-like teeth. His father was 
very rich, and Cornelius was either brought u^j a minister, or 
at any rate received a fine education. He was very active and 
strong, and he would preach and pray like a minister. (The 
name is spelled sometimes Hetfield and sometimes Hatfield.) 
He had one sister, who married a man by the name of Blanchar. 
The large property which his father left to Cornelius Hetfield 
was transferred to his brother-in-law to prevent its confisca- 
tion. 

The night when Hetfield and his party burned the church in 
Elizabethtown they came back and had a meeting in the large 
mill at Port Richmond. They went in there and Hetfield 
preached a sermon, and prayed like a minister. Hilliker bought 
this old mill, which was a large building containing a dwelling 
house, and had two runs of stone. It afterward caught fire and 
burned down. Hilliker built a smaller one in place of it, and 
that was burned, after which another was built. Daniel Selter 
was a great friend of the American cause. He was almost the first 
settler at Fayetteville, and built a public house there and cleared 
away the woods during the revolution. Col. Aaron Cortelyou 
kept a store where Edward Taylor since lived. It was this store 
that the negro Anthony Neal broke into, or was accused of 
breaking into and was hung for the offense. 

From an interview with Mr. Peter Wandel, January 8, 1853 : 
When the British first landed on the island they destroyed all 
the fences, and when they went to Jersey proclamation was 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 245 

made to put them up again, but when they returned they de- 
stroyed them again. The forts abandoned by the British were 
never occupied by American soldiers. The buildings that were 
in them were afterward gradually removed. There were bar- 
racks, and in the fort at the Narrows there was a magazine un- 
der ground, made of timbers laid very close together, like a 
wall. This was built a year or two before the end of the war. 
After the evacution of New York city by the British they made 
no stay on the island. They left things here in a very damaged 
state. All was commons about the quarantine grounds. Cor- 
nelius Hetfield was a noble looking fellow, but capable of do- 
ing almost anything. He was, probably, not under General 
Skinner's command, but a kind of commander himself. He 
ought to have been hung. He, however, went to Nova Scotia 
after the war. Smith Hetlield was a great bully. The refugee 
post on Bergen Point was opposite to Port Richmond. There 
was a whole company thei'e. Wandel once came near being- 
made a prisoner by Hyler. He was with others on the banks 
fisliing when Hyler, with his party in three boats, came upon 
them and took several of them. He probably would have taken 
the whole fleet of twenty-two tishing boats had it not been for 
the interference of an armed schooner that happened to pass. 

An appeal was afterward made to the governor, and he sent 
down a gun boat, and the next time they went down to fish the 
gun boat kept Hyler off. When Stirling came upon the island 
Peter Wandel, then a youth, served in the fort that stood back 
of Dr.Westervelt's, as a volunteer for the occasion. For this his 
father gave him a good whipping. Stirling could have taken 
all the forts in half an hoftr had he known their weakness and 
scantiness of provisions and ammunition. But instead of doing 
this he strung his troops all over the island. They were ex- 
tended all along the heights, the snow being four feet deep, and 
the weather intensely cold. The light horse went along the 
north shore in pursuit of them, and took some prisoners, but 
not many. No reinforcements came to the forts that day, but 
subsequently two hundred sleighs came down, and Ned Beattie, 
one of the Hetfield gang, availed himself of the opportunity 
to bring down a barrel of rum. The route they followed in 
coming down from the city was first to cross from the Battery 
to Powle's hook, and then come down over the flats and along 



24G HISTORY OF RICHMOTSTD COUNTY. 

the Jersey sliore, and cross the kills from Bergen Point, taking 
Shooter's island on the way. 

The village of Richmond in the time of the war was generally 
called Cuckold's town. Todt hill was not so called before the 
war, but the name began to be used during the latter part of 
the war. Decker's ferry was afterward called Ryers', and 
still later Mersereaix's. Opposite to it was a house called Duf- 
fy's ferry, on the Bergen Point side. The wood cut by the 
British during the war was chiefly from the hills behind quar- 
antine, which were covered with all kinds of timber. Between 
Old Town and New Dorp it was very wild, with scattered trees 
and huckleberry bushes. There was heavy timber all around 
Fresh pond. The riflemen from Virginia were very fond of 
fresh water fish, and would make a raft of rails upon which 
they would go out on the pond and catch cat fish and very 
lai'ge eels. The cat fish sometimes weighed eight or ten pounds 
apiece. 

Wandel, when a boy, went to school to Mr. Rogers, in a 
small one-story house that stood just above the Port Richmond 
church ; afterward taught by Mr. Riley, and moved to a point 
near the dock. His father's house was a short distance east of 
the Snug Harbor site. He stood at the door of his father's 
house and saw Hetfield's party engaged in hanging Ball on a 
tree on Peter Buskirk's farm. The night the British arrived 
his family was up in the clove, his father having removed them 
all thither through fear of the troops, but being assured of 
safety they all returned the next day. The British turned 
their horses in upon the growing crops on the farm. No com- 
pensation was ever received for it. At that time then there 
were not over nine houses between Van Duzer's and Richmond. 
When the fieet came up to Prince's bay the children all went 
up into the garrets to look out to see the ships come in. All 
the people in the neighborhood immediately got fresh provisions 
ready and killed great numbers of their young cattle. The 
English came ashore to purchase these articles. 

After the ships had come to at quarantine, the sailors took 
the sails off, and made tents of them for some of the soldiers. 
The encampment extended from New Brighton to Stapleton. 
In all the space occupied by them, in a short time there was 
not a blade of grass to be seen. Everything was trodden down 
by the troops, who were kept " forever marking time."' Before 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 247 

t 

the arrival of the main body of troops three vessels kept cruis- 
ing in the waters about Staten Island. These were, in the or- 
der of their size, the "Asia," the "Phoenix" and the "Sav- 
age," the last being a sloop. At this time there were on the 
island a body of New England troops stationed at the Narrows 
and another of Virginia riflemen, among whom were some men 
sixty years of age. These were billeted among the farmers on 
the north side. The British vessels stopped at the watering 
place to get water one day, the " Savage " lying quite close to 
the shore, while six or seven of her men were engaged in get- 
ting water. The Virginia riflemen heard of it, and taking Peter 
Wander s father for a guide, started for the spot. They rushed 
upon the sentinel so suddenly that he had not time to fire be- 
fore he was seized and made a prisoner. As they continued 
their course down the hill they were seen from the sloop and 
fired upon by those on board. The riflemen protected them- 
selves behind rocks and trees as well as they could, and none 
were hurt by the fire. The men who were getting water ran 
into the sti'eam up to their chins, but being ordered to come 
out under pain of death, they obeyed, and all were taken 
prisoners. One of the men on board the "Savage" went up 
into her "round top" with a blunderbuss, but the riflemen 
shot him off. The British were prevented from getting water 
on this occasion. This was the first blood shed in the war in 
this quarter. On the American side none were injured except 
Neddy Beattie, who heard the firing and took a walk over the 
hill to see what was going on. He was struck by a spent ball, 
but without receiving any serious wound. 

There were three forts during the war near the Watering 
Place, one near where the pavilion now stands, one at the 
" Marble house," and one behind Dr. Westervelt's. Colonel 
Billop was accounted very clever, a large, stout, noble looking 
man. He pretty muc^h governed the island during the war. 
Some robbers from Jersey plundered a Mrs. Marshall who lived 
near Rossville. She had a mare and colt. They took the 
former but left the latter. The next morning the mare came 
home again, swimming across the sound. During the war little 
" bush shops" were frequent all over the island. Their whole 
stock in trade consisted of rum and a gill cup. The latter hav- 
ing no handle the dealer would put his thumb in it to hold on 
by and at the same time lessen the quantity requii-ed to fill it. 



248 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

From a conversation with Mr. Dissosway, December 26, 1850: 
There was an encamiiment of British soldiers in Edwards' 
orchard, on tlie Shore road corner toward New Brighton. In 
malving excavations while erecting one of the buildings on this 
property an entire skeleton was dug up. From time to time 
several baskets full of bones have been uncovered at the same 
place. It was the custom to send the invalid soldiers of the 
British army to Staten Island. There was another encampment 
at Belmont's hill, where the Hessians lived undergi'ound. The 
Fort Richmond hotel, or the building that occupied its site and 
was the property of Judge Ryers, a leading tory, was the scene 
of a great deal of fun during the revolution. Ryers was the 
grandfather of Dissosway. He made a fortune out of the 
British. He was a contractor for supplies to the British troops. 
The Americans would drive their cattle over from Jersey to be 
sold. These would be kept at the slaughter-house, which was 
near Bard's. The Americans would come over at night, steal 
the cattle and sell them again to Ryers, who never said any- 
thing. He was a man of large size and great business tact. 
His first wife was killed by fright at the landing of the British. 

From a conversation with a Mrs. Blake, who had been a Miss 
Merrill: She was born near Bull's Head. There were a number 
of Americans who came over from the Jersey shore one day and 
were making merry at a drinking house. An English officer 
who was staying at her father's house appeared at dinner with 
his ruffles all blocdy. He explained that he had killed half a 
dozen drunken Americans. She recollected seeing a negro 
woman covering one dead body with brush. 

Captain Blake said: Bodine's mill was the third one erected 
on that spot. During the war the Scotch Forty-second regi- 
ment was quartered in Dongan's orchard. The Hessians lived 
near about the " marble-house," in caves. He had visited them 
in their underground habitations to get the money for a beef 
which had been run through by them. They were fed on slices 
of i^ork, and rum with sugar shaken up in it, vsrhich later they 
called " Schnaps." 

From a conversation with Mr. Peter Jacobsen, October 18, 
1851: His grandfather. Christian Jacobsen, was killed in his 
own house by the British. Four soldiers came at night, when 
he was in bed. They entered the kitchen and aroused the 
blacks, demanding to know where their master kept his money. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 249 

and threatened to kill them if they did not tell. An old black 
woman passed by a secret ronte to the I'oom of Mr. Jacobsen and 
aroused him. He opened the kitchen door and asked what the 
noise was about, whereupon one of the soldiers returned some 
insolent reply and at the same time fired upon him. The ball 
entered his side and he died in a few hours. The soldiers were 
made known to the officers, and the man who did the firing was 
hung. 



CHAPTER VI. 



UNDER THE REPUBLIC— 1783 TO 1883. 



Condition at close of Revolution. — Population. — County Buildings. — Manners 
and Customs. — War of 1812. — Extracts from the Records. — The Militia. — 
Growth and Improvement. — Earthquakes. — Quarantine. — -The Civil War. — 
Some Notable Events. 



WE come now to the history of a period of almost uniform 
prosperity and advancement, with perhaps varying 
degrees at different times, but with no more such eras of de- 
vastation as that which we have been reviewing. Returning 
peace found tlie island in a demoralized state of desolation. 
But the sunshine of peace quickened its capabilities into new 
life. We see it now as a new era of prosperity has dawned 
upon the land. The clouds have rolled away and the vigorous 
youth of a new government, set out to run the race of its exist- 
ence, fills the prospect with cheering promises. 

The whigs who had left their homes and property at the be- 
ginning of the war now returned and began the work of rebuild- 
ing the places that had been laid waste. The condition in 
which they found their property need not be described. It was 
what may readily be imagined as the result of seven years' oc- 
cupancy by a lawless military force and frequent raids of x^lun- 
derers from abroad. But the town organizations were re-estab- 
lished and the wheels of government gradually set in motion. 

It would be interesting to note the manner of doing this, but 
the records are too scanty to give us much knowledge. 

On the 26th day of September, 1775, there was a court of 
common pleas and general sessions held at the court house, in 
Richmond town, after which there is no record of any court 
having been held in the county until Monday, the 3d day of 
May, 1784, " being the lirst Court held after the Declaration of 
Independence being published." This court was held at the 
house of Thomas Frost, the court house having been burned by 
the British, David Mersereau, Esq., being judge. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 251 

The lirst case on the record is entitled, " TJte State vs. Thovias 
Frost.'' The grand jury brought in a bill of indictment against 
the defendant for profanity, " and the Deft, being in Court was 
called and the Indictment Read to him.— Whereupon he 
pleaded not guilty and entered into recognizance himself in 
twenty pounds and Peter Mersereau his security in ten pounds 
to appear at the next Session to Try the Traverse." Unfortun- 
ately there is no record of the result of this indictment. The 
next court whose proceedings are recoi-ded was held in Septem- 
ber, 1794. 

It may be a matter of interest to know the names of the 
officers of the first court held under the new government ; they 
are as follows : David Mersereau, Esq., judge ; Cornelius Mer- 
sereau, Hendrick Garrison, Peter Rezeau, Anthony Fountain, 
John Wandel, Gilbert Jackson and Lambert Merrill, associate 
judges; Abraham Bancker, Esq., sheriff; Jonathan Lewis, cor- 
oner ; Daniel Salter, James McDonald, John Baker and Abra- 
ham Burbanck, constables. The fii'st act was to read the com- 
missions of the sevei'al officers. The first civil suit on the cal- 
endar was Richard Housman against Henry Perine. Trespass, 
damages £50. 

Subsequent to this the courts of this county were regulated 
by the following act of the state legislature passed February 5, 
1787: 

"Beit enacted," &c. 

" That the Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions of 
the Peace, in and for the County of Richmond., shall be held at 
the Court-House in the same County, on the fourth Monday in 
January, the first Monday in May., and the fourth Monday in 
September, in every year, and may continue and be held until 
the several Saturdays next following, inclusive." 

It is probable that in the work of restoring order and improve- 
ment to the desolated farms and homesteads the surplus ener- 
gies of the people were so much engaged that they had little 
time for unnecessary litigation. A paper of May 9, 1788, con- 
tains the following item : 

" A correspondent observes, much to the credit of the inhab- 
itants of Staten-Island, that the courts of general session, and 
common pleas, on that Island, county of Richmond, held on 
the 5th instant, in four hours after their convening, adjourned 
to September term, not having found a single bill of indictment, 



252 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

or a recognizance, presented. — Who, except lawyers^ would not 
wish to become a resident in so virtuous a community ?" 

A record under date December 1, 1789, contains the following 
accounts: 

" To Richard Scarret for digging a Grave £0. 10. 

"To Lewis Dey for Boarding the Carpenters when repairing the 
County House & Building the Gallows & Furnished 100 shingles 
1 Bushel of Lime a pair of hinges & For fetching Anthony 
Cornish from New York Goal fees &c &c £6. 0. 

"To Lewis Ryerss [then sheriff] for two locks for the Goal, for 
going to New York for to Report Anthony Cornishes Escape 
from Goal, for Going to New York when he was aj^prehended, 
for Fetching him from New York, Making the Gallows & Exe- 
cuting of Anthony Cornish, for Expence of Apprehending of sd 
Cornish at New York, Goal costs £16. 16. 0" 

"We have been unable to find a more detailed account of 
this case. A very aged man, living when this was written 
(1875) and nine years old at the time of the execution, and who 
remembered it well, said that the prisoner was known as ' Black 
Antony,' being a negro ; he had committed a murder on board 
of a vessel in the sound. The place of execution was near the 
site of the present school house in Richmond village." 

The explanation above is that made by Mr. Clute. We have 
in another chapter given an account of the execution of a 
negro, which corresponds so nearly in some jjoints with the 
above as to make it quite probable that it was the same case. 
But if such is true, there are differences enough to make one or 
the other inaccurate. As we have not the means at hand to de- 
cide which is the correct one, we leave them both for the judg- 
ment of others to decide. 

"Oct. 19: 1790. The following is the amount of the In- 
habitants of the county of Richmond as numbered by the 
Supervisors and Assessors of said county Agreeable to an Act 
of the Legislature passed the 18th day of February 1790. 

Males. Females. Slaves. 
Town of Southfield 
Town of Westfield 
Town of Northfield 
Town of Castleton 
Souls in Richmond Co. 

In all 3942 1593 1530 819" 



309 


330 


258 


440 


451 


267 


463 


409 


167 


381 


340 


127 



HISTORY OF UICHMOND COUNTY. 



253 



The growth of the countj' in population during the decades 
from that time to the present is as follows :— 1790, 3,838 ; 1800, 
4,564; 1810, 5,347; 1820, 6,135; 1830, 7,082; 1840, 10,965; 
1850, 15,061; 1860, 25,492; 1870, 33,029; 1880, 38,991. 

The following extract from the records tells its own story of 
the preliminary steps toward building a new court house. 

" July 7 : 1792 At a meeting of the Supervisors Together 
with the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas for the County 
of Richmond the 26th of June 1792 Lawrence Hillyer, Joseph 
Barton Jun. were unanimously appointed Commissioners to 
Superintend the Building of a Court House in the Town of 
Richmond on a Lott of ground given by Doctor Thomas Frost, 




HOUSE OP ISAAC M. MARSH, FORMERLY USED AS 
THE COURT HOUSE. 

and Thomas Frost having since been appointed a Commissioner 
to be with the said Lawrence Hillyer and Joseph Barton to 
Superintend Said Court House and to Advertise for Undertakers 
& to receive proposals that may be Consistent with seconomy 
and the Interest of the County. 

"Richard Conner Clk Supervisors." 

In 1792 a tax of £315 ($787.50) was levied upon the county for 
building the court house, and the sum of £15 ($37.50) was paid 
to Dr. Thomas Frost in payment for the "Lott" which the 
previous entry says lie had ffioeti for the purpose. The record 



254 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

does not give the name of the " undertaker" to whom the con- 
tract was awarded. 

This building is still standing opposite the hotel known as the 
Richmond County hall. When the present court house was 
built, the old court house proi)erty was sold to Walter Betts, 
who converted it into a dwelling. It is now (1875) owned and 
occupied by Isaac M. Marsh, Esq. While this building was 
used for a court house, the brick building on the opposite cor- 
ner was the prison. 

The same year, 1792, anothei' tax of £84 ($210) was levied for 
hnishing the court house. The completion of it was delayed 
for nearlj' two years, for under date of October, 1794, we are 
informed that the supervisors met in it for the first time. 

The lot on which the present court house stands was con- 
veyed to the supervisors by Henry I. Seaman and wife, by 
deed bearing date April 19, 1837, at a nominal price, for the 
purpose of erecting a court house thereon; according to the 
terms of the convej^ance, when the property shall cease to be 
used for that purpose, it shall revert to the said Seaman or his 
heirs. 

On the 22d December, 1847, Farnham Hall and wife, in 
consideration of fifty dollars, conveyed to the supervisors 
the lot in the rear of that on which the court house now 
stands. 

In one of the old record books containing minutes of the pro- 
ceedings of the supervisors, is the following entry: 

"1827, May 5th, At a meeting held this day, present Har- 
manus Guyon, John Totten & Nicholas Crocheron, Supervisors, 
also Richard Crocheron, Esq., James Guyon, Esq., and Walter 
Betts, Esq., Commissioners appointed according to a law passed 
April 10th, 1826, an act to provide for Building a Fire proof 
Clerk and Surrogate's office in the County of Richmond, 
whereby it was made the duty of the Supervisors at their an- 
nual meeting to cause to be levied and collected a sum not ex- 
ceeding One Thousand five hundred Dollars, over and above 
the expense of Collecting the same, for the purpose of building 
a fireproof Clerk and Surrogate's Office for Said County, to be 
located in such part of Said County as the Judges of the Said 
County, or a majority of them shall direct, and in which all 
the public Records and Papers belonging as well to the Clerk 
as the Surrogate of the Said County shall be kept, and the said 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 255 

Judges have fixed Upon the Cite of the Old County-house on 
the East side of the Goal for the locating the same. 

" Whereupon resolved hj the Said Supervisors Present that 
the county-house be sold and removed without delay to make a 
clear Cite for the purpose of erecting Said Clerk and Sui-ro- 
gate's office, and also that the proceeds of such sail be paid to 
the County Treasurer, subject to the order of the Supervisors, 
and also that the said Commissioners be and hereby are em- 
powered to sell Said County house for the best j^rice that can 
be got for the same at public Vendue, notice to be given of the 
sime (sic) of such sale. And the Supervisors having caused to 
be raised and paid into the Treasury of Said County the sum of 
six hundred dollars for and towards the Building Said Clerk 
and Surrogate's office. Also resolved by the Supervisoi's that 
they will in case the six hundred dollars raised for the purpose 
of building Said Clerk and Surrogate's office should be Insuffi- 
cient to pay for building the same; In such case they will Bor- 
row as much as will be sufficient to complete the same. Pro- 
vided however that the whole cost of building such office shall 
not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars. 

Signed Herms Guyon, 

Nicholas Crocheron, 
John Totten. 

" Whereupon it was ordered by the Supervisors that their Clk 
shall Immediately give to said Commissioners an order on the 
County Treasurer for the said sum of six hundred Dollars. 

"Which said order was in due form made out and delivered to 
one of the said Commissioners for the Payment of the said six 
hundred Dollars as aforesaid. 

Richard Conner, Clk ) $ C. 

of the board of Supervisors ( 600 00.'' 

The above document is given in full, as a specimen of the 
verbose and exceedingly precise style in which Col. Richard 
Conner, as clerk of the supervisors, kept all the county records 
under his official care. 

The " Goal " herein alluded to is that building which stands 
on the corner, north of the old dilapidated hotel called the 
"Richmond County Hall," and the clerk and surrogate's fire- 
proof offices, built on the "cite" of the former county house 
is the brick building adjoining it on the east. The cost of 



256 



HISTORY OF KICH3I0NU COUNTY. 



erecting it is not known, but bills for material and labor to the 
amount of §941.08 were audited that year. The building was 
completed during that and the following years, as will be seen 
by the following record dated October 7, 1828. 

" It is Resolved by a Majority of the Supervisors of the 
County of Richmond that three men be appointed to take 
charge of the records of the County of Richmond, in conse- 
quence of the 111 liealth of the present County Clerk, Jonathan 
Lewis, Esq., and that they make an Inventory of such Books 
and Papers as they shall lind in the office of Said Clerk, and 
shall deposit such Books and Papers in the office now erected 




BUILDING FORMERLY USED AS A CLERK'S OFFICE 
AND JAIL. 

in the Village of Richmond for that purpose. Resolved that 
Walter Betts, Esq., Richard I). Littell, Esq., and Abraham 
Auten, Deputy Clerk, is hereby appointed to take an Inven- 
tory of said Books and Papers and deliver them to the said 
Abraham Auten, Deputy Clerk, on his giving a receipt for 
such Books and Papers on the Schedule or Inventory, 
and deliver such Schedule so signed to the Supervisors of Said 
County." 

The old court house and the lot in which it stands was sold 
at auction to Isaac M. Morris December 17, 1837. That build- 
ing still stands on the west side of the street, nearly opposite 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



257 



a point midway between the old Dutch Reformed church and 
the old jail above referred to. It is a two-story-and-basement 
building, and is now devoted to private uses. 

The present jail, in the yard in the rear of the present court 
house, was built in 1860. A new county clerk's office, on the 
opposite side of the street from the court house, is now being 
completed. 




PRESENT COURT HOUSE AND JAIL. 

We have but little evidence of the use of the whipping-post 
and stocks in this county. All that we have at hand is the 
record of the supervisors under date of October 26, 1801, when 
a bill was audited for the amount of $12 to Lawrence Hillyer 
"for Erecting a Public Stocks according to Law." 

In giving a glimpse of the domestic and social customs of 
the early years of the republican period we condense from an 
interview made years ago with one whose personal recollection 

17 



258 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

extended back to that time. Most articles of home consump- 
tion were then made at home. Each member of the family 
had one new pair of shoes every year, made by a shoemaker 
who came to the house in the fall. It was the custom of that 
craft to go from house to house in annual rounds of repairing 
and newly fitting shoes for the feet of the family. There was 
little money on the island. People were j^aid in articles of pro- 
duce. A girl who could spin at the rate of seven hundred 
strands to the pound was considered a good spinner. The 
young ones spun tow. It was customary for the negroes to 
raise tobacco for their own use. All people drank a great deal 
of cider. It was offered to every neighbor or stranger on ar- 
riving. It was a custom to put into the pitcher of cider a piece 
of hot toasted bread or a doughnut, to warm the beverage. 
This hospitality was indulged on the occasions of the people 
assembling at some neighbor's house for a religious service. 

The conveyance then in use was the farm wagon, with a pair 
of clean sides to be put on it after it had been all the week used 
for carting manure or other dirty substances. The old fash- 
ioned rush-bottom chairs were placed in it for seats. To this 
the horses were hitched and their movements were guided by 
means of a single rope rein on the outside of each horse and a 
connecting rope running across from one bit to the other. 
These were called " couple-towse." Men of somewhat wealthy 
or aristocratic pretensions wore knee-buckles. A silver- 
mounted riding whip was considered a great acquisition to the 
make-up of an aspiring man. Two-wheeled gigs were some- 
times used. They had no tops, but had wooden springs, called 
" grasshopper springs." 

It is said that John C. Dongan brought to his wife, from 
Europe, the first silk dress ever seen on Staten Island.- He 
pronounced it only a " middling good one," having cost but 
fifty pounds, when for one hundred pounds he could have ob- 
tained a really good one. A schoolmaster, by tlie name of 
Pritchett was remembered as coming to the employer to get his 
pay for teaching. He took it in fresh meat and other articles. 
After spending the evening, chatting and drinking cider, he 
went home, having prepared for his lonely walk through the 
woods by having a stout hickory stick burned to a live coal at 
one end. By brandishing this stick in the air he kept the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COTINTY. 259 

wolves, with which the woods abounded, and which woukl be 
attracted by the smell of the meat, from attacking him. It 
was cvistomary for the most respectable persons to go to taverns. 
One of the highest repute was the "Bull's Head," then kept 
by a man named Johnson, and later by one Garrison. The 
"Black Horse" was of rather inferior tone, being frequented 
by those who ran horses on the road there. 

Flax was raised in considerable quantities, not onlj' for the 
linen fibre it yielded, but for the seed, large quantities of which 
were shipped to Ireland, where it brought a good price. John 
V. D. Jacobsen, who lived at New Dorp, and was accounted 
one of the three richest men on the island in his time (Judge 
Seguine and Jacob Mersereau being the others), died in 1826, 
his property being valued then at seventeen thousand five hun- 
dred dollars. In those times the price of a drink at a tavern 
was three cents, but in the time of the war of 1812 this was in- 
creased to four cents when sugar was taken. Cigars cost 
twenty-five cents a hundred, and were frequently kept by land- 
lords to be given away whenever asked for. 

The war of 1812 passed without leaving any considerable 
traces upon this island that are now discernable. Fortifications 
were thrown up for defense in case the British fleet should 
come into the bay. One of these was located on the summit of 
the hill at Prince's bay, a little north of the light-house. The 
embankment was on the seaward margin of the height, and part 
of it has evidently been washed away by rains and the tide un- 
dermining the bank. It is said that the fort contained a block 
house, the stones of which were afterward used in the con- 
struction of the light-house and keeper's house adjoining. 
Another earthwork was at Little Fort hill, near the site of the 
present fort that commands the narrows. 

The general laws of the state from time to time enacted for 
the gradual extinction of slavery were the same in their appli- 
cation to this county as elevvhere. The records of the differ- 
ent towns show some interesting relics of the custom. We 
have only space for a few. Here is a transcription from the 
Westfield town records : 

" I Winant Winants of the County of Richmond and State 
of New York and Town of Westfield, Yeoman Doth Certify 
that I have Had a Female Negroe Child Born of a Slave the 



260 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

26th July 1799 Named Bett from its Birth to this Date is Six 
months and Twenty Four Days old. 

" WiNANT Win ANTS. 

" Recorded this 19th February, 1800. 
"Henry Parlee, Town Clerk." 

This is also from the records of Westfield : 

"This is to Certify that on the third Day of February 1800 
the Negro wench' a Slave Belonging to Benjamin Larzelere, 
Yeoman of the Town of Westfield in the County of Richmond 
and State of New York was Dilivered of a male Child wich is 
now Living by the Name of Tom. 

"Given under my hand the 7th Day of April 1800. 

" Benjamin Larzelere. 

" Recorded this seventh Day of April one thousd Eight 
Hundred 1880 

" Henry Parlee, Town Clerk." 

The following are from the records of the town of Castleton: 
"I do hearby certify that a male negro child named Nicholas 
thePather of whom named Sam belongs to me, and the mother 
named Bett belongs to Cornelius Cruser, was born In my House 
at Castle Town the eight day of may in the year of our Lord 
one thousand Eight hundred, and I request that this return of 
the Birth of the Said Child may be Entered agreeable to the 
directions Contained In a late Act for the gradual Abolition of 
Slavery. 

" John Mercereau." 
"Castletown Janiuiry 15th, 1801." 

" Richmond County 30th wit : 

" Personally came & appeared before me John Garretson, 
first Judge of the said County, the Rev. Peter I. Vanpelt, who 
being duly sworn deposeth and saith, that he has a coloured 
boy named Harry born February 1803— also that he has a col- 
oured Girl named Eliza born August 1810— also a coloured girl 
named Dian born June 29th 1814— also a coloured boy named 
Ned— born Febry 28th 1818 And further this deponent saith 
not. 

" Peter I. Vanpelt 

" Sworn before me 
this 6th clay of april 1818 

"John Garretson 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 261 

" To be recorded by the Town Clerk of Castletown as the Law 
directs." 

"This is to Certify that my Woman of Colour named Mary 
had a female child born the fifteenth day of December in the 
Year 1814 named Mary and also same Woman had a male child 

born the Second day of March 1817 named harry 

and also my woman of Colour named Jane had a male child 
born the tenth day of July one thousand eight hundred and 
sixteen named Murry which Certificate I hereby request the 
Clerk of Castletown to record. Dated at Castletown the 9th 
day of May, 1817. 

"James Guton " 

"To the Clerk of Castle Town. I hereby certify to you that 
a female negro Child named Mary, born of my slave Jane the 
fifth day of February last, which was given up to be recorded, 
I do hereby Manumit and give up all my riglit & title to the 
service thereof given under my hand at Castle Town the third 
day of February, 1804 

"Jacob Loziek" 

" Richmond County ) 

Town of Northfield )" To whom it may Concern know ye that 
on the 24 day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand 
Eight hundred & Eleven T Joseph Ryers a free Black Man do 
by thease presence Manumit and abandon all My Rite and title 
to the service of my son Harry and he is hereby pronounced By 
me to be a free man agreable to the Laws of the State of New 

York as witness My hand 

his 

"Joseph X Ryerss" 

mark 

During the years of the first half of this century, as well as 
those of the eighteenth century that followed the revolution, 
the people paid attention to the training of their able bodied 
citizens in the manipulation of weapons of defense and military 
movements. Years afterward, when the settled condition of 
peace seemed to lull the public mind into indifference in regard 
to preparations for war, the custom fell into disuse. The mil- 
itia system was under similar regulations in this as in other 
counties of the state. It was held as the bulwark of that con- 
fidence which the people had in their own dominant might ; the 
dearest feature and safeguard of freedom ; the life guard of a 



262 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

nation, drawn out yearly before the view of its rulers, showing 
them their own proper orbits by a display of numerical strength 
which it would be madness to oppose, and at the same time 
showing to the eyes of foreign powers the muscle of the nation, 
against which it would be folly to make conquest. 

Reviews of the militia were held on the broad plain which 
was spread out on either side of New Dorp lane. Here tlie re- 
view by the officers annually took place, and those occasions 
were gala days to the people who witnessed them, as well as to 
those who took part in the parade. Officers and men were on 
the alert to make the best possible exhibition, for critical eyes 
were upon them, as well, as was often the case, the eyes of loved 
ones, the fair and the beautiful. A sumptuous dinner and gen- 
eral merry-making, often accompanied by the perverted good 
cheer that flowed from the old decanters and made discord 
where harmony was intended, usually followed the military 
review. 

The militia of Staten Island in 1837 composed the One Hun- 
dred and Forty-sixth regiment, which was a part of the Sixty- 
fifth brigade, in the Second division of New York state in- 
fantry. The division was then in command of Major-General 
VanBuren, the brigade was under Brigadier-General D. Denyse, 
and the regiment was commanded by Colonel Tompkins. The 
" Mirror,^'' a local paper of the time, in its issue of September 
7, 1837, contains the following picture of one of these militia 
parades. 

" On Friday last we were witness to a parade of the officers 
of the 146th regiment. Major Tompkins of the staff of Major 
General Van Buren, has lately been promoted to the command 
of this regiment, and this was his first parade, or drill of offi- 
cers. We unexpectedly met the battalion on its way to Rich- 
mond village; the sounds of martial music reverberated along 
the hills, and prickled up'the hairs on our horse's ears, his whole 
frame quivered with alarm; steed threatened steed with high 
and boastful neighings; cows scampered off like militiamen at 
the clarion's sound; our own impatient nag turned tail upon 
tlje army, bearing safely away his interesting burthen; the very 
mud-turtles, that inhabit the ponds in the neighborhood, 
plunged headlong into the tide and hid their coward heads; but 
all this consternation and dismay was occasioned by the rascally 
exotics who were hired for the occasion to make a racket with 



HISTORY OF BICHMOND COUNTY. 263 

their drums and trumpets. The detachment themselves were as 
peaceable a set of men as ever shouldered arms; and we were 
much better pleased with their manual exercise than we have 
been with like exhibitions in Xew York. The officers of the 
Tompkins Guards looked well in their new uniforms, and the 
non-commissioned officers behaved like soldiers. One thing we 
have to commend Col. Tompkins for — his orders were given cor- 
rectly and in good time; but on the march his guides of the left 
were poorly covered —this is a matter of some importance, and 
should be attended to. We understand that the field and staff 
are about adopting the United States infantry uniform — good. 
Old Richmond begins to pick up spirit on everj^ hand — she'll do 
presently. Go it fellow sogers." 

A statute fixed the first Monday in September of each 
year as the day for annual military parade, for all tlie 
enrolled militia of the state to parade by companies in 
each company district. This occasion was frequently denom- 
inated the "September training day." Those "September 
training days" were remarkable occasions, landmarks in the 
lives of the sturdy yeomanry. To get the crowd into shape 
was a task indeed for the officers, and the line would often 
be a marvel of curvature — straight as a new moon. This 
might be accounted for in a measure by the fact that it 
was the only time in each year when the privates were drilled 
by companies, and was also the day when the corporal would 
bring in his new recruits, and report their enrollment. Those 
new recruits, the boys, were not required to be equipped at 
their first appearance, but simply to answer at roll call, and 
when any of them remained in the ranks during the drill, it 
was only to have a good time generally. If those young sol- 
diers appeared with anything less crude than a hoe handle or 
a riail staff instead of a musket, the officers were to be con- 
gratulated. 

The regimental parade, or "general muster," as it was called, 
was neither boys' play nor a drill with wooden guns in a half 
circle. Upon the adjutant, who was chief of the colonel's staff, 
devolved the duty of forming the companies into one regimen- 
tal line and to equalize the divisions, then the whole was turned 
over to the colonel commanding, and after drill and evolutions 
in his discretion the regiment was reviewed by the division and 
brigadier generals, each with his staff officers all mounted. 



264 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

After passing in review, the field officers and the colonel's 
mounted staff were all insjDected in the saddle by the brigade 
inspector. Then followed the inspection of the officers and 
privates in the line, the inspector having dismounted. Every 
sword, musket, lock and flint, cartridge-box and bayonet, as 
well as the uniform of the officers, must pass the ordeal, and 
the belt or buckle that betrayed any sign of weakness was at 
the risk of being sundered by a little extra force of the inspec- 
tor's arm. The confusion and loose discipline of the " Septem- 
ber training day " had no place in the " general muster." 

The colonel commanding was required by law to issue an 
order annually, summoning the regimental and staff officers, 
the commissioned and non-commissioned officers and musi- 
cians of the whole island to rendezvous at some place designated 
by him in the order, three successive days, for drill and in- 
struction, which was conducted by the regimental officers 
under the supervision of the colonel. To be buttoned to the 
chin in the i-egulation coat, and exposed to the rays of the 
hot summer sun, under a brimless beaver chapeau, was an 
ordeal that was dreaded by those who had to pass through 
it, but the blasts of the sun on the parade field were not to 
be compared in their destructive effects with the blasts of 
gunpowder on the field of battle. About forty years ago the 
state laws were materially changed, and all those old military 
organizations were disbanded. 

An era of improvement seemed to open upon the island 
about the year 1836. In the following year it was said that 
more buildings were then in process of erection or had just 
been completed than at any previous time since the revolution. 
In Richmond village a new street had just been opened and 
seven new houses had been built upon it. The village had 
grown dormant, but this dash seemed like the pushing forth 
of a new life. Tompkinsville was estimated to have doubled 
its jiopulation within a short space of time, a rapid growth de- 
veloping toward Stapleton. New Brighton was unusually 
full of life and bustle. Factoryville had suffered somewhat 
from the decreased activity in its manufactures, yet the 
recent erection of many new homes gave it a cheering glow of 
promise. Improvements were also noticeable at Rossville, the 
name of wliich had not long before been changed from the old 
cognomen, " Blazing Star." 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. '265 

That there are two sides to every question of public policy, 
and that there was a strong sentiment against some enterprises 
tliat are generally welcomed, is seen by the action of the people 
of this county taken in regard to the establishment of a bank, 
a wlialing company and a steam ferry company in 1838. These 
three enterprises were projected here in 1838,and notice was duly 
given that applications would be made to the legislature for 
acts to incorporate them. A public meeting was called at Fac- 
toryville, at the " Shakespeare Hotel," January 11, 1838, in 
which call the "citizens of Richmond County, without dis- 
tinction of i)arty, opposed to all monopolies," were invited to 
join in opposing the granting of charters to the aforesaid 
companies. The meeting, which was said to be "large and 
respectable," was presided over by Hon. Samuel Barton, 
while Paul Mersereau acted as secretary. Animated discus- 
sions followed, and a number of resolutions were passed, the 
result of which was to decide upon a remonstrance to the 
legislature against granting charters to any of the proposed 
incorporations. The sentiments prevailing in these expressions 
declared that " we view the application for a baidc at the pres- 
ent as a most flagrant and daring insult to the good of the 
People * * * * antl tli^t we will use all honorable 
means to bring into contempt our present odious banking sys- 
tem;" that they regarded the incorporation of a steamboat com- 
pany as entirely unnecessary; and in general that all acts of 
special incorpoi'ation come from the people and that the people 
have a just rigiit to inquire into the necessity of such acts, 
" and if found wanting in the balance of justice, to instruct 
t)ur representative to veto the applications in the bud, and 
thereby save ourselves a vast amount of money which is ex- 
pended in payment of legislatures for discussing topics which 
thej^ of right have no business to meddle with." In tlie re- 
monstrance the following jiassage appears, which we think 
worthy of notice here: 

" Your petitioners think it preposterous in any government 
to lend its aid to carry into effect the mad schemes of specu- 
lators, to permit them by the aid of their corporate privileges 
to appropriate all the profits arising therefrom to their 
private use, as long as successful, by which they often ac- 
quire princely fortunes, and then by their private property 
being exempt from the payment of their corjiorate debts, 



266 HISTORV OF RICHMOND COUNTr. 

enable them, when unsuccessful, to throw the burthen of their 
losses on the community. It is no longer a novelty to see the 
individual stockholders of a bankrupt institution living in 
splendor and rolling in wealth, while from the poor mechanic 
and laborer they withhold the amounts justly due to them, 
and thereby deprive them of the means of supporting their 
destitute and unhappy families. It is also a bitter reflection 
that such cruelty and injustice is sanctioned by the laws 
of our beloved country, from which there is no earthly 
appeal." 

As we follow the chronological order of our history circum- 
stances invite our attention for a moment to the remarkable 
peculiarities of the season of 1843. The early i)art of the 
I>receding Avinter had been quite mild, but it became very 
severe about February, and so continued until near May, 
when the weather became suddenly warm. Exti-emes of heat 
and cold followed in frequent alternations. But little spring 
weather was developed. On the 3d of June ice formed in the 
Clove road an eighth of an inch thick. All vegetation was 
stunted. Early in that month extreme heat commenced, accom- 
panied with drought which extended into Julj'. The seventeen- 
year locusts appeared early in June, doing a great amount of 
mischief to young trees. They remained about six weeks. On 
the 2d of July the thermometer marked 94° in the shade, and 
in the afternoon of that day a terriflc tornado passed over the 
island, adding to the damage of frost, drought and locusts. 
Early in August a deluge of rain followed the drought. Early 
in September a remarkabl}^ cold week necessitated fires to keep 
warm by, and this was followed by a spell of extreme heat. 

The island has several times felt the shock of earthquakes. 
On the 21st of February, 1845, between 7 and 8 o'clock in the 
evening, a shock was felt. Persons seated at the time could feel 
the chairs oscillating beneath them. The same impression was 
perceptible in different parts of the island. On the 25th of the 
following October, another shock was sensibly felt on the island, 
this one moving from east to west. February 4, 1846, still 
another similar shock was felt. The j^receding summer was 
one of great heat and extreme dryness. On the 8th of Septem- 
ber, 1848, about 11 o'clock at night, an earthquake was felt 
on the island. One who remembers it, thus describes his im- 
pressions. "I was in bed at the time, and in an imperfect sleep 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 267 

and was awakened by it. It shook the house and was accom- 
panied by a noise as of many carriages passing over the paved 
streets of a city. Its course seemed from southwest to north- 
east, and it continued several seconds. But perhaps tlie most 
severe earthquake shock ever felt here was that which visited 
the island, in common with some other parts of the country, on 
tlie afternoon of Sunday, August 10, 1884. It passed at 10 min- 
utes past 2 o'clock, and was preceded by a deep rumbling 
sound, which increased in volume till every house on the island 
trembled, shaking sashes, doors and shutters, throwing dishes 
from tables and shelves and jostling bricks off the tops of chim- 
nies. Some supposed that the Standard oil works on Bergen 
point had exploded. At the Pavilion hotel the guests were at 
dinner. Great confusion prevailed, men and women rushing 
into the halls and about the house, while some ladies fainted. 
More or less confusion prevailed in other houses, but no serious 
damage was done. 

We come now to notice one of the most conspicuous barriers 
to the prosperity and growth of Staten Island that its history 
can show. That "barrier" was indeed long since "burned 
away." We refer to the quarantine hospitals, which were 
located at Tompkinsville, and the removal of which is one of 
the most striking examples of the determination to which a 
community may in very desperation be driven by a persistent 
course of oppression, even when pursued under the cloak of 
state authority. 

As the commerce of the jjort of New York extended itself) 
and vessels from all parts of the world visited its harbor, and 
sometimes brought infectious diseases with them, it became an 
imperative necessity that the authorities should establish a 
quarantine for the protection of the people dwelling within its 
limits. Accordingly, the colonial legislature, in 1758, enacted 
a law creating a quarantine establishment, and located it upon 
Bedloe's island, where it remained thirty-eight years, and from 
which it was removed to Nutten, or Governor's island. In 1799, 
the yellow fever was brought to New York, and it was decided 
that the establishment was altogether too near the metropolis to 
be of any service in protecting the people, by preventing the 
spread of malignant diseases. Commissioners were then ap- 
pointed by ac; of legislature to procure a site on Staten Island. 
They selected a parcel of land containing thirty acres, belong- 



268 IIISTOIJY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

ing to St. Andrew's church, beautifully located on the northeast 
shore of the island. Strong opposition was made not only by 
the owners of the land, but by the people of the island gener- 
ally, to its location among them, but it was taken, notwith- 
standing, by what in law is termed " the right of eminent 
domain." Hospitals and other necessary buildings were erected, 
and during the first year of its existence on the island, twenty- 
five cases of yellow fever occurred among the people residing 
outside of its boundaries, all but one of which proved fatal. 
Almost every year thereafter contagious diseases, in some form, 
found victims among the people. In 1848, the number of per- 
sons sick from infectious diseases outside of the quarantine 
amounted to one hundred and eighty. In that year an earnest 
petition for relief was presented to the legislature by the people 
of the island, supported by powerful influences from New York 
and Brooklyn, and a committee was appointed by the legisla- 
ture to examine into the matter, and rejjort at the following 
session. This committee at once proceeded to the performance 
of the duty assigned them, and in 1849 " unhesitatingly recom- 
mended the immediate removal of the quarantine." While the 
committee were engaged in performing their duty, the yellow 
fever again broke out, and extended itself to various other 
places. In April an act was passed for the removal of the quar- 
antine establishment from Staten Island to Sandy Hook. The 
measure had its opponents among the shipping merchants and 
others in New York, wlio were not idle ; the state of New Jer- 
sey also interi)osed its objections, and the jjersons appointed by 
the legislature of New York to carrj^ out its intentions, took no 
action whatever, so that the removal act I'emained a dead letter 
on the statute books. 

The fearful visitation of yellow fever in 1856 once more 
aroused the people of the island, and another application for 
relief was made. In March, 1857, another act was passed for 
the removal of the quarantine from Staten Island, but the op- 
position of the commissioners of emigration, the board of 
underwriters of New York, and the shipping interests of that 
city, again thwarted the beneficent designs of the legislature. 
Tlie precautions adopted by the local authorities to protect the 
citizens and their families from infection, were opposed by 
the health officer, and every possible obstacle was thrown in the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 269 

way of the local ofBcei's to embarrass them in the performance 
of their duties. 

The largest hospital building in the enclosure was three 
stories high, one hundred and thirty-six by twenty-eight feet, 
and had wings thirty-seven by twenty-eight feet at each end. 
A hospital building near the water was three stories high, fifty 
by forty-five feet, with wings at each end sixty-six by twenty- 
six feet. These two buildings were designed to accommodate 
four hundred patients. The small-pox hospital was two stories 
high, eighty by twenty -eight feet, with a piazza running along 
the front and rear. It was designed to accommodate fifty 
patients. There were twelve other buildings on the grounds, 
viz. : health-officers residence, deputy health-officer's residence, 
assistant physician's house, steward and farmer's house, work- 
house, house for barge-men, boat house, office, carpenter's shop, 
ice and coal house, wagon house and barn. 

The board of health of tlie town of Castleton was organized 
August 2, I806, with Richard Christopher as chairman and Dr. 
Isaac Lea as henlth officer. Frequent meetings were held, and 
the health of the villages of the town, and the effect of the 
quarantine upon them frequently considered. Carelessness was 
prevalent in the management of that institution, and diseases 
were frequently propagated from the hospitals among the people 
living in the town. These diseases were communicated by em- 
ployees of the quarantine going out among the peojjle, and by 
miasmatic transmission through the atmosphere. The history 
of the action of this board and the progress of the popular 
sentiment which kept pace with it would be interesting to those 
who have time to read, but space forbids following it in any 
detail during the thi-ee years of its growth up to the culminat- 
ing point. Dr. E. C. Mundy was appointed health officer dur- 
ing this time, and at timesa guard was emi)loyed to keep sur- 
veilance over the enclosure, to prevent as far as possible the 
commerce of its employees with the people outside. 

At a meeting July 15, 1858, health officer Doctor Mundy stated 
that a persistent determination was manifest to thwart the ac- 
tion of the board by misrepresentation and ridicule. In order 
to counteract in some measure the influence of such efforts he 
made a statement as follows : 

" We have located in our midst a lazaretto, whence emanates 
those noxious effluvia which produce disease and death. This 



270 HISTOBY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

monstrous nuisance, it seems, from the result of the efforts 
made for the accomplishment of its removal by the people of 
the county for several years past, we are doomed still to bear 
with and submit to, and hence it becomes necessary to adopt 
such measures as the law authorizes to mitigate as far as pos- 
sible the evils of its presence and protect our citizens from the 
influence of its deadly miasmata. For this purpose and no 
other, the Board of Health was organized, and at its last meet- 
ing adopted rules and regulations by which all persons engaged 
off shore or on board of any infected or quarantined vessels, and 
all passengers and luggage landed from such vessel shall be 
prohibited from comingoutside of the quarantine enclosure and 
from going to the City of New York upon any of the boats of 
the Staten Island Ferry Company." 

Though the approval of the quarantine health officer. Doctor 
Thompson, seems to have been secured, harmony did not exist 
with the commissioners of health of New York city. Notwith- 
standing all efforts of the health officers he reports July 23 — 
" Stevedores and lightermen, passengers and luggage from in- 
fected vessels, continue as previously to pass from the quarantine 
enclosure to other parts of the town and on board our public ferry 
boats." The spirit of discord between the quarantine authorities 
and the local board of health increased until Doctor Mundy 
declared his conclusion " that the health authorities of the port 
of New York look upon the health and lives of the people of 
Richmond county as matters of secondary imjjortance, and 
hardly worthy their consideration." Several cases of yellow 
fever occurred, all of which were directlj' traceable to viola- 
tions of the board of health rules. It was also evident that 
great laxity existed in the administration of quarantine rules, 
men being allowed to pass to and from infected vessels where- 
ever they pleased. 

At a meeting of the board August 19th it was reported that 
seventeen gases of yellow fever had occurred outside of the 
quarantines walls. A district at Tompkinsville was then infected 
with yellow'fever. Power was given to Doctor Mundy, as health 
officer of the board, to make and attend to the enforcement of 
such rules and regulations as he thought proper, and the pen- 
alty afl5xed for the violation of such rules in the name of the 
board was limited at one thousand dollars fine or two years im- 
prisonment. August 27th the board met again. The infection 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 271 

of yellow lever which was spreading into the town, was clearly 
caused by the presence of a fleet of infected vessels lying at 
quarantine. Doctor Mundy in his report at that meeting said : 
"But over this source of evil I am aware that your honorable 
Board has no control, and therefore I have no suggestions to 
make in relation to it." Subsequent events, however, showed 
that suggestions were alive from another source, of which we 
have no written record to tell us of their growth. The same re- 
port gives another cause of the transmission of disease by in- 
fected articles being conveyed to the home of one of the em- 
ployees whose di;ty it was to burn them. He did not do so, 
but carried the clothing to his residence and there washed it. 
The whole district lying in the triangle surrounded by the bay, 
the hospital buildings and Griffin street was infected. The 
doctor recommended prompt, decisive action to prevent a re- 
currence of the offense. 

At a meeting of the board on the 1st of September the follow- 
ing resolutions were unanimously passed, and ordered to be 
published : 

"■Resolved, that the whole Quarantine Establishment, located 
as it is, in the midst of a dense population, has become a pest 
and a nuisance of the most odious character, bringing death 
and desolation to the very doors of the people of the Towns of 
Castleton and Southfield. 

'■'■Resolved, that it is a nuisance too intolerable to be borne 
by the citizens of these towns any longer. 

'■'■Resolved, that this Board recommend the citizens of this 
Town and County to protect themselves by abating this abom- 
inable nuisance without delay." 

On the night of that and the following day, September 1 and 
2, 1858, about thirty men entered the quarantine enclosure, 
and after removing the patients from the several hospitals, set 
fire to and burned down every building connected with the 
establishment. That some excesses should be committed by an 
exasperated populace, was to be expected. There was so much 
system, however, in their mode of operation, that it was evi- 
dent everything had been previously arranged, and that the 
people were carrying out instructions previously received. 
During the continuance of this intense excitement, it was re- 
markable that not a single life was sacrificed, nor was anj' one 
seriously injured. 



272 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

These summary proceedings of the people of Staten Island 
produced great excitement, not only in the city of New York, 
but throughout the state, and indeed throughout the country. 
The people engaged in them were termed in the public prints 
barbarians, savages, incarnate fiends, sepoys, and in fact no 
epithets were considered too vile to be applied to them. Bat 
they were all borne with equanimity, sustained by the con 
sciousness that sooner or later there would be a revolution in 
public opinion. After all the mischief had been done, the gov- 
ernor of the state declared the island to be in a state of revolt, 
and sent over several regiments of militia, who were for some 
time encamped upon the grounds immediately north of the 
quarantine. 

A matter of a character so serious, could not, of course, be 
passed over in silence. Legal proceedings were at once insti- 
tuted, and Messrs. John C. Thompson and Ray Tompkins, who 
were regarded as the instigators and ringleaders of the incend- 
iaries, were arrested on a charge of arson, and arraigned before 
the county judge, Hon. H. B. Metcalfe, for e.xamiiiation. His 
opinion, which was extensively copied and read, had great in- 
fluence in changing public opinion. His closing remarks merit 
repetition and preservation. 

"Undoubtedly the city of New York is entitled to all the 
protection in the matter that the State can give, consistently 
with the health of others ; she has no right to more. Her great 
advantages are attended by correspondent inconveniences; 
her great public works, by great expenditures; her great for- 
eign commerce, by the infection it brings. Bat the legislature 
can no more apportion apon the surrounding communities her 
dangers, than her expenses ; no more compel them to do her 
dying, than to pay her taxes ; neither can be done." 

Thus ended the charges brought against the prisoners ; no 
person was punished for any complicity in the matter, but the 
county, very unjustly in the opinion of many, was compelled 
to pay for the value of the property destroyed, both public ajid 
private ; nevertheless, the people consoled themselves with the 
reflection, that even at that price, they had cheaply, as well as 
effectually, rid themselves of a grievous nuisance, which had 
not only depreciated the value of their property, and exposed 
themselves and their families to contagion in its worst forms, 



HISTOKT OF KICIIMOND COUNTY. 273 

but had actually been the direct cause of the death of hundreds 
of their relatives and neighbors. 

The board of health emphjyed a force of special police, twen- 
ty-five by day and an equal number by night, to keep a con- 
stant guard around the quarantine enclosure, to allow no com- 
munication between it and the town. The infected district at 
Tompkinsville was more effectually quarantined, and the health 
officer was instructed to prevent all intercourse with the dis- 
trict, even by fencing it in if he should deem it necessary. 
Meetings of the board were held daih% and all physicians were 
required to report daily all cases of infectious diseases. On the 
14th of September the board passed unanimous resolutions that 
immediate steps be taken to prevent the re-establishment of the 
quarantine buildings, and appointed a committee to legally re- 
strain the board of health of the city of New York and the 
health commissioners and commissioners of emigration "from 
re-erecting the said hospitals, buildings and shanties — or in do- 
ing any act by which the said nuisance may be re-established, 
continued or maintained in the Town of Castleton." 

The quarantine establishment was never rebuilt here. A 
floating hospital was arranged and anchored in the Lower bay 
in 1860, and later hospitals were erected on two small islands in 
the Lower bay nearly opposite New I)orp, but far enough from 
the island shore to give freedom from any apprehensions of in- 
fectious communications. 

Under an act of April 16, 1860, a commission was authorized 
to investigate the damage sustained by the state in the destruc- 
tion of the old quarantine hospitals. The commission met in 
June, and after an extended inquiry, made their award, ii.xing 
the whole amount at $121,598.39. The supervisors of Richmond 
county in December accepted the award, and soon after issued 
bonds of the county to meet the same. These were given to the 
cornmissioners of emigiation, who sold them as occasion re- 
quired and appropriated the proceeds to the expenses of their 
work. By an act of the legislature, passed in 1870, the bonds 
then remaining, to the amount of S10,72o, were ordered to be 
surrendered and cancelled by the comptroller. 

At the beginning of the year 1861 clouds of discord and po- 
litical strife began to darken the sky and obscure the prospects 
of the island in common with other parts of the land. Fanat- 
icism and hot headed indiscretion had accomplished their work 

18 



274 HISTOIIV OF lUCHMOND COUKTY. 

> 

and the direful results were then hidden behind the veil which 
was about to remove and disclose the horrors of four years of 
civil war. As the opening events developed, the people in some 
measure were able to la\' aside party spirit and join with some 
show of unanimity in the work of sustaining the government in 
Its efforts to contend with a gigantic rebellion. In accordance 
with the recommendation of the president, Wednesday, Jan. 
uary 4th was observed as a day of fasting and prayer, that the 
threatened war clouds might pass away. 

One of tlie iirst acts of hostility in which Staten Island was 
directly concerned was the seizure early in that month, of the 
schooner " S. W. Lutrell" of Staten Island, at Norfolk, Va., 
for violation of the inspection laws of that state for preventing 
the escape of fugitives and slaves. 

A large and enthusiastic Union meeting said at the time to 
be the largest mass meeting that had ever convened on the is- 
land, was held at Tottenville on Saturday the 26th of January. 
A banner was raised, bearing upon it the motto, " The Consti- 
tution and the Union," and the most enthusiastic expres- 
sions of loyalty and devotion to the country of our 
fathers were indulged in. Guns were fired for the states of the 
Union, for General Scott and for Major Anderson, and resolu- 
tions were ado^jted, among which was the following : 

" Resolved, That the peace and happiness of this country 
depend not on mere amendments to the Constitution, nor con- 
cession to the slave jiower, Init upon a strict adherence to the 
Constitution, and a wise, firm and determined execution of the 
federal law." 

In April preparations were made to meet the expected call 
for troops to defend the nation. The island began thus early 
to assume a martial appearance. Uniformed men might be seen 
hurrying to and fro, and recruits from almost every household 
were answering to the call, and making ready to go into camp. 
On the 20th of the month a number of young men who had 
joined the Seventy-first N. Y., embarked with the regiment on 
board the steamer " R. R. Cuyler." Others enlisted in the 
Seventy-third and other regiments. The llames of patriotism 
burned high, and party feeling was forgotton in the desire to 
maintain the inttigrity of the nation. An editorial in a local 
paper said — "We know that the soldiers of Staten Island go 
with no vindictive feelings towards the South to gratify. They 



HISTORY or RICHMOND COUNTY. 275 

go with the sword in one hand, and tlie olive branch in the 
Other ; and the secession traitors South, as well as the abolition 
traitors North, are the objects of their special abhorrence." 

The community now began to be greatly agitated in regard to 
the war in prospect. Handbills were posted throughout the 
county calling for recruits in the Scott Life Guard in New 
York ; sign boards, bearing the words " Death to all Traitors," 
were nailed up on trees along the shore roads ; in one instance 
an effigy, with protruding tongue, was hung by the neck from a 
stake in the center of a mill pond, while on his breast the figure 
bore a placard, on which were the words ''Tlie Traitor's Doom;" 
a secret combination was said to have been foi-med on the island, 
whose members assumed the duty of learning who were pos- 
sessed of traitorous sympathies and inclinations, and warning 
them against manifesting those sympathies too freely; recruit- 
ing officers frequently visited the island from the city and drew 
away large numbers of the young men ; flags were raised on 
vessels in the river and bay, on house tops and public build- 
ings, on horses and vehicles in the street, and were even worn 
upon the persons of ladies and gentlemen, some, however, sub- 
stituting rosettes instead of flags. During the month the Sev- 
enty third was engaged in recruiting its ranks, and tendered 
their services to the governor. The regiment was under com- 
mand of Colonel Ray Tompkins. At the close of the month it 
was under marching orders. The Middletown guard, an inde- 
pendent organization commanded by Captain Stahl, also pre- 
pared to take an active part in the war. The ministers in the 
different parts of the island made reference on Sunday to the 
national troubles. The arrival of Major Anderson and his com- 
mand in New York, after the evacuation of Fort Sumter, set 
free a blaze which swept over the whole northern states; and 
Staten Island, so closely connected with New York, could not 
but feel a double portion of the patriotic enthusiasm that 
glowed already with such a fervid heat. A mass meeting of 
the citizens of the county was called at the old quarantine 
grounds in Tompkinsville, on Saturday the 27th, "to take 
measures for the prompt action of Richmond County at this 
crisis." This meeting, though not large, was enthusiastic. It 
was addressed by Mr. Clark and Henry J. Raymond. Tlie vig- 
orous prosecution of the war was urged, and the following reso- 
lutions offered by Mr. G. W. Curtis were adopted : 



276 IIISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

" Whereas^ The people of the United States within the 
Union, and under their own Government, have for three- 
quarters of a century enjoyed an unparalleled prosperity and 
progress, for the continuance of which the Constitution of the 
United States is the perpetual guarantee ; and, 

" Wliereas^ That Constitution provides for a constant refer- 
ence of every disputed political policy to the peaceful decision 
of the people at the polls, and of every question arising under 
the Constitution and laws to the judgment of the Suj^reme 
Court of the United States, thereby removing all conceivable 
occasion for forcible resistance to the laws ; and, 

" ^Y^lereas^ An armed rebellion now threatens the very ex- 
istence of that Government, seizing the forts, arsenals, navy- 
yards, vessels and hospitals which belong to the people of tlie 
United States, and consummating its crime by firing upon tiie 
flag of the nation, the glorious symbol of our unity, our liberty, 
and our general welfare. 

" Resolved, That it was the duty of all persons in the country, 
who felt themselves aggrieved, to resort to the peaceful and 
legal means of redress provided by the Constitution ; and that 
when, instead of so doing, they took up arms and organized 
resistance to the Government of the country, they struck at the 
very heart of organized civil society. 

" Resolved, That the Government of the United States has 
properly sought, by every kind of forbearance, to avoid the 
sad necessity of asserting its authority by force of arms, but 
that it is at length manifest to the whole world that it must now 
subdue or be subdued. 

" Resolved, That in forcibly maintaining that authority every- 
where within its dominions, and at every cost, the Government 
wages no war of invasion or conquest, but simply does its duty, 
expecting every citizen to do the same, and to take care that 
the doom of the rebels and traitors who would ruin the most 
beneficent Government in the world, and so destroy the hope 
of free popular institutions forever, shall be swift, sudden and 
overwhelming. 

" Resolmd, That when the supreme authority of the Govern- 
ment of the people of the United States shall have been complete- 
ly reestablished, we, with all other good citizens, will cheerfully 
cooperate in any measures that may be taken in accordance 
with the Constitution, fully to consider and lawfully to redress 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 277 

all grievances that may anywhere be shown to exist, yielding 
ourselves, and expecting all others to yield to the will of the 
whole people, constitutionally expressed. 

^'Resolved, That we, loyal citizens of Richmond County 
hereby, before God and man, take the oath of fidelity to the 
sacred flag of our country, and to the cause of popular liberty 
and Constitutional Government which that represents, pledging 
ourselves to each other, that by the love we bear our native 
land, and our unfaltering faith in the principles of our Govern- 
ment, we will transmit to our children, unimpaired, the great 
heritage of blessings we have received from our fathers. 

" Resolved, That a committee of three from each town in the 
County be appointed by the Chair, to solicit subscriptions for 
the benefit of the families of residents of the County, who may 
be absent upon actual service, and for the equipment of volun- 
teers; and that this fund shall be distributed by a Committee 
consisting of the Supervisors of the Countj'. 

'^Resolved, That it be recommended to the citizens to form 
companies in their various neighborhoods, to elect their own 
officers, to drill regularly, and to hold themselves ready to an- 
swer the call of their country. 

" Resolved, That knowing the readiness of the women of this 
country to take their part in the holy struggle, we invite them, 
by the immediate formation of local societies of relief, to pre- 
pare bandages and lint for husbands, sons, brothers and lovers, 
that all hands may work, as all hearts are beating, for God and 
and our native land." 

Several regiments of soldiers, among whom were Wilson's 
Zouaves, were encamped in the quarantine enclosure at that 
time. They were marched out and drawn up in line at this 
meeting and much of the speaking was addressed to them. 
To the question put to them, "Are you ready to march through 
Baltimore?" they gave a heartj^ response expressive of their 
determination and earnest readiness to face the conflict which 
was before them. 

An uni^leasant feature of the presence of these troops tempo- 
rarily stationed here soon began to manifest itself. These re- 
cruits, fresh from the low haunts of New York city and unused 
to the restraints of military discipline, were not held by the 
orders, however strict, forbidding them to leave the enclosure 
of the quarantine grounds. They frequently scaled the walls 



278 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

and in j^arties, sometimes as many as thirty, roamed along the 
shores and over the country, visiting the houses and annoying 
the inhabitants. Many petty depredations and thefts were com- 
mitted by them. A few were arrested and taken back to the 
encampment. 

The island now became a rendezvous for many regiments and 
parts of regiments while waiting to fill their ranks with recruits 
or for orders to move forward toward the seat of war. 

The ladies also, acting on the suggestions contained in the 
resolutions alreadj'- quoted, formed associations in the different 
villages of the county, and wbile the sterner sex' were drilling 
and equipping for the hard experiences of the battle-lield they 
were preparing lint and bandages and other conveniences and 
comforts for the disabled, the sick and the dying. 

The supervisors, in resjionse to the people's resolutions, met 
at Tompkinsville on April 27th and appointed W. S. Pendleton 
as treasurer to hold the fund that might be raised for the 
equipment of volunteers and the support of their families 
during their absence. They also authorized him to dispense 
the fund, with the concurrence of one or more supervisors. 

A number of young men, constituting an organization known 
as the '"Young American Guards," began drilling at the Conti- 
nental hotel at Port Richmond, under the direction of Abraham 
C. Wood. 

"When the first recruits were equipping themselves for the 
war, great difficulty was experienced in finding a sufficient 
supply of uniforms and equipments. The market in such 
things was soon run dry, and men who were anxious to be off 
for the seat of war were delayed until the necessary equip- 
ments could be obtained or manufactured. 

After the first installment of Staten Island boys had gone 
out in the Seventy-first and other regiments, their friends 
looked anxiously for tidings from them. And as their ac- 
quaintances and even strangers on the island were desirous of 
hearing from them, their letters were often published in the 
local papers and were read with great interest. 

During the following summer the popular feeling must have 
been agitated to a fever heat. Besides the commotion caused 
by the exciting news from the war, and the presence of large 
numbers of soldiers in the midst, and the recruiting, flag-rais- 
ing, speech-making and other work for the cause of the nation, 



HISTOKT OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 279 

there were other causes generating agitations that helped still 
further to inflame the public mind. In partisan politics the 
outbreak of the war and other influences had greatly disturbed 
the lines of the old political parties, and a new organ- 
ization called the Citizen's Union party, which was favorable 
to sustaining the Union arms and i-eforming some local abuses, 
was growing up amid a vast amount of partisan friction. The 
unsettled condition of the quarantine management also was a 
cause of frequent alarm for fear that the occupation of the old 
grounds might be renewed, or the floating hospitals in the bay 
might be drifted near enough to bring infectious diseases to 
the island. The frequent disturbances created by drunken 
soldiers and the consequent insults and annoyances that the 
people suffered from them, together with the discord generated 
by the eft'orts that were made to suppress liquor selling to the 
soldiers, and the resistance of a numerous and determined band 
of liquor dealer's who were tempted by the unusual profits to 
continue in the business, all conspired to add more fuel to the 
flames of popular passion. 

The petty depredations frequently committed by soldiers en- 
camped here, and the fear of still greater insecurity from that 
source led to the organization of a "Home Guard," and a 
volunteer police force, to be called out by the supervisors in 
case of any general disturbance that might be caused by the 
lawlessness of men from the encami^ments. Reasonable means 
were taken by tiie authorities of the camps to prevent the men 
going out to obtain liquor or to prey upon the peace of the 
community. 

At the circuit court held in November, 1861, the grand jury 
delivered to the court the following presentment, which is sug- 
gestive. 

" The Grand Jury of the County of Richmond, upon the ter- 
mination of their duties, respectfully present, that they are 
gratified that no serious violations of law have demanded their 
investigation during the present session of this court, and re- 
gard that as a gratifying evidence of the peaceable and law- 
abiding character of the citizens of this County. Such cases, 
however, as have fallen under their notice disclose the fact that 
many violations of public order may be traced to the indulgence 
and use of intoxicating liquors, and they would recommend 
that the Commissioners of Excise should stringently, and with 



280 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COTJNTT. 

energy, prosecute all persons who are engaged in the sale of 
strong and spirituous liquors without license, and collect the 
penalties prescribed for such violations of the law. In this con- 
nection, the Grand Jury would intimate that inasmuch as those 
penalties are directed by the statute to be appropriated when 
collected for the benefit of the poor of the County, that no com- 
promise of any suits instituted for their recovery can be legally 
authorized." 

Some idea of the extent to which the people resjwnded to 
the calls of the nation may be gained from the fact that up to 
the end of November, 1861, in the town of Castleton, there had 
been subscribed three thousand two hundred and fifty dollars 
for the families of volunteers. There had volunteered from 
this town one hundred and twenty-eight men, leaving sixtj-- 
four dependent families to be cared for. 

At a meeting held at the court house on the evening of No- 
vember 13th, a committee was appointed to obtain blankets, mit- 
tens, stockings, and other useful articles for the soldiers in the 
held. Other meetings were held in other villages to further the 
same object, which was the work of the sanitary commission. 
All through the years of the war the ladies were not lacking in 
their readiness to engage in labors of love and mercy in doing 
what they could for the comfort of those on the field of battle 
and in hospitals. 

After the first recruits wlio went out in the spring of 1861 had 
served their three months in the war, the work of recruiting for 
the war settled down to actual business. Meetings were now 
held at different places to arouse the enthusiasm and patriotic 
devotion of the strong-armed men of the county to go forth to 
fight the battles of their country. At a meeting held in Demp- 
sey's hall, Factory ville, September 2, 1861, for tlie purpose of 
organizing a company of young men of the island, James Bo-- 
dine made a patriotic address, and at its close about fifty young- 
men signed the roll. A station was opened during that month, 
in a large carpenter's shop that had been previously owned by 
James G. Burger. Unusual inducements were offered to re- 
cruits to join a companj' which was to be transferred to Colonel 
Tompkins' regiment (Second New York state militia) already at 
the seat of war. Forty-two of these recruits, belonging to Com- 
pany A, left Port Richmond on the 23d to join the regiment at 
Poolsville, Md. Recruiting was now said to be more lively than 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 281 

it bad been before. The following are the names of those of 
this company who were from the island : Peter Pero (corpo- 
ral), Lewis D. Johnson (corporal), John E. Johnson, Joseph B. 
Johnson, John J. Simonson, James H. Munson, Daniel Mallett, 
Eugene Daily, Henry D. Spong (corporal), Alexander Fitz Sim- 
mons, Edward M. Sharrott, Jeremiah Leary, Charles Steers, 
Thomas J. Gushing, George F. Burbank, James H. Simonson, 
Jacob T. Selzer, Cornelius Degraff, William D. Maskell, Charles 
H. King, William Eccles, Joseph K. Plant, Henry Sharp, Jos- 
eph B. Barnes, Joseph L. Thompson, James Post, Isaac Lock- 
man, C. P. B. Slaight, Jr., Henry Mercereau, Cornelias Mar- 
tineau, Jacob Lockman, James B. Burbank, Simon V. N. 
Decker, Albert Mason, Matthius B. Stewart, James B. Halli- 
day, Albion Noble, John Reynolds, Abraham Turner, Francis 
M. Tarsney, William H. Fullagar, Arthur Haughian, George 
Conner, Thomas Conner, Joseph Simonson, Henry T. Paulson, 
Henry Decker, Samuel Warrender, John W. Tynan, James 
Simonson, Thomas Flanelly, Frigero Gassq, John E. Green. 

The Seventy-third, under Colonel Tompkins, composed of the 
citizen soldiers of Staten Island, was by a resolution of its of- 
ficers at a meeting held at Tompkins' Lyceum, June 9th, 1862, 
offered to the government for three years or the war. It was 
expected that it would be attached to Spinola's brigade. 

In accordance with the direction of the governor, the super- 
visors, in July, appointed men to meet with others to form a 
committee for this senatorial district to superintend the raising 
of troops for the ai-my. The men appointed from Richmond 
county were Col. Xathan Barrett, Richard Christopher, William 
II. Vanderbilt, J. Bechtel, W^illiam Corry, Henry L. Norris and 
Edward Banker. 

During July a number of Staten Island men enlisted in the 
Seventy-ninth (Highlanders), which was already in the field. 
The raising of recruits, however, proceeded slowly, and the 
authorities seemed backward about taking earnest hold of the 
matter of raising troops. It seemed necessary that some means 
should be taken to arouse the public mind to the importance 
of action. Accordingly, one of the largest and most enthusi- 
astic war meetings ever gathered in the county was held 
at Port Richmond on the evening of August 11th. Its object 
was to encourage enlistments to fill the calls for six hundred 
thousand men which had recently been made by the president. 



282 HISTORY OF RICIIMOXD COUNTY. 

The quota of Richmond county nnder these calls amounted to 
seven hundred and eighty-four men. The meeting assembled 
at the steamboat wharf, near Oriental hall, where more than 
fifteen hundred people were present. 

Resolutions were passed, heartily approving of the call for 
troops, declaring it to be the imperative duty of men enjoying 
the protection and benefits of the government to do all in their 
power to sustain it ; declaring for the perfect union of the states 
and the maintenance of the authority of the government at 
whatever cost ; calling for immediate, prompt, constant and 
energetic action until the cause for such action should cease ; 
branding as enemies all who should refuse to speak or act when 
occasion required for the preservation of the country, and fi- 
nally that "we have come here to-night to act, and that we will, 
without delay, contribute liberally of our means to forward en- 
listments and carry out the great measures now being instituted 
for tile earnest and vigorous prosecution of the war, well as- 
sured that the greater the sacrifices we now make the more 
speedily we shall see our country rejoicing in the blessings of 
peace, and the whole constellation of stars in our political 
heaven restored to their accustomed brilliancy and beauty, never 
again to be dimmed nor obscured." 

Hon. Erastus Brooks then made an eloquent and stirring ad- 
dress, during the delivery of which he was frequently inter 
rupted liy apjilanse. A bounty of fifty dollars each was ofl'ered 
to volitnteers, and the chairman was apjjointed to receive sub- 
scriptions to a fund for that jjurpose. The list was headed by 
a subscription of five hundred dollars, and several others of one 
hundred dollars each, and enlistments and subscriptions flowed 
in. Other meetings were held in other parts of the county and 
efforts made to meet the demands of the hour, but the results 
were not sufficiently rapid to prevent apprehensions that a draft 
might be resorted to. 

The possibilities of a draft in the future developed a peculiar 
feature in the eagerness with which some endeavored to evade 
those possibilities. Like the invited guests of a certain great 
supper of old, they began to make excuses. Men who had 
never thought of complaining of any ailment now assumed, 
with the best jjossible grace, the role of invalids, or found, often 
by hard stretches of truth, perhaps, that some good reason ex- 
isted to relieve them of military duty. One has the bronchitis. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 283 

another an affection of the jaw, another finds his eyesight very 
poor and bought spectacles after the order for a draft was made, 
another has one leg shorter than the other, another is " thick 
of hearing," another has a sick wife, another gets out of 
breath very soon, and many others are over forty-five years old 
or hold some office that exempts them. 

Mass meetings were held in the diffei'ent towns in August, for 
the purpose of encouraging enlistments and raising subscrip- 
tions from which to pay a bounty of §50 to volunteers and to 
furnish aid to take care of their dependent families during their 
absence. Such a meeting for Northfield was held at Elm Park 
on the 16th, at which some two thousand persons were present, 
and resolutions were passed expressing the same sentiments as 
those of the previous meeting and calling on the supervisors to 
raise by taxation on the towns of the county ten thousand dol- 
lars to be appropriated to the relief of the families of volunteers. 
Voluntary subscriptions for the same purpose were also received. 
In New Brighton a similar meeting was held on the 18th. at 
which over thi-ee thousand dollars was subscribed for a relief 
and bounty fund for the town, and a committee appointed to at- 
tend to dispensing it and collecting more. Another meeting of 
the people of Castleton was held on the 21st, at Factoryville. 
Speeches, resolutions, subscriptions and enthusiasm flowed 
freely on these occasions. This relief fund, which had been 
established in 1861, had already received and dispensed above 
five thousand dollars, and at this time had more than one hun- 
dred families dependent on it. The citizens of Middletown 
held a meeting on the 2()th, at which resolutions were passed 
expressive of a full determination to sustain the government in 
carrying on the war and calling on the supervisors of the county 
to appropriate twenty thousand dollars to be distributed to the 
families of volunteers who had or should enlist from this county. 
One of these resolutions is in the following language : — 

^'Resolved, That much as we may differ as to questions of 
policy in minor matters, we are one in the conviction that it is 
our individual duty to stand by the government of our fathers, 
and to swear eternal hostility to treason and its abettors whether 
at home or abroad." The meeting adjourned in a full blaze of 
enthusiasm, and several enlisted at once. 

A meeting at Southfield was held on the 21st, at which some 
two thousand persons were present. Patriotic resolutions, ex- 



284 HISTOHY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

pressive of full sympathy with the war, were passed, among 
which were the following : 

"That the people of the town of Southfield are heart and soul 
devoted to the national cause at the present vital crisis, and that 
they will make any sacrifice to preserve our national existence, 
which is now menaced by a band of lawless traitors." 

"That while differences of opinion exist among us on politi- 
cal questions, we are satisfied that this is no time to agitate 
them — when the life of the nation hangs trembling in the bal- 
ance, and foreign despots look on exultingly, expecting and 
hoping to see the failure of democratic institutions thoroughly 
demonstrated by this war." 

" That we now call upon the supervisor of this town to co- 
operate with the other supervisors of this County in appropri 
a ting a sum of $20,000 as a bounty for volunteers, and for the 
support of their wives and children, trusting to the legislature 
to legalize the act." 

Westfield was not behind her sister towns in answering the 
country's call. Two meetings were held, and the enthusiasm 
generated was sufficient to excite the resolution to raise a com- 
pany of seventy-five men, which should be officered from the 
town. 

The supervisors of Richmond county met on the 27th of 
August and resolved to issue the bonds of the county to the 
amount of twenty thoiisand dollars, the i3roceeds of which 
should be used for the payment of extra bounties and relief for 
tile families of volunteers. Though this action was at the time 
contrary to law, yet it was deemed expedient in view of the ex- 
treme circumstances, and the loud call for it which the popular 
meetings in the difl'erent towns had made on the board. It was 
presumed that the legislature would sanction it, which was 
done when that body met in the following winter. 

Enlistments were now very brisk, the war spirit having, by 
the enthusiastic speeches and action of the people, become 
thoroughly aroused. A new company mostly from the town of 
Castleton was formed, with Louis Schaffner, captain ; Orville 
D. Jewett, first lieutenant, and Clarence Bai'rett. second 
lieutenant. Recruiting offices were opened at Dempsey's hotel, 
Factoryville, and at the white lead works of John Jewett & 
Sons at Port Richmond. An extra bounty of fifty dollars each 
was paid volunteers. John C. Green of Castleton, gave one 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 285 

thousand dollars toward paying these bounties. Barracks were 
erected for the use of this company on the corner of Broadway 
and Church street, in Port Richmond. It was decided to attach 
the company to the regiment of Colonel Minthorne Tompkins. 

A meeting of the citizens of the county was held at Clifton 
park, August 30th, amid the flaunting of banners, the strains 
of stirring music, and the cheers of the multitude. Enthusias- 
tic speeches were made by Judge H. B. Metcalfe, who presided, 
George William Curtis, General Busteed, Honorable Erastus 
Brooks, and others. The following resolutions were passed : 

" Whe7-eas, The County of Richmond has not been hitherto, 
and will not be hereafter behind any county in the State in loy- 
alty ; that her sons are figiiting in regiments in almost every 
division of the national army, and that among the men who 
still remain at home there are scores who will be proud to face 
the foe for the sake of the Union. Therefore, 

'^ Jiesolved, That we will relieve the Government from the 
necessity of making a draft in this County by providing volun- 
teers to fill our quotas under both calls. 

" Resolced, That it is the duty of every man to support the 
Government by every means in his power, by his voice, his ex- 
ample, his money and his good right arm. 

" Resolved, That the schemes of the unscrupulous traitors 
who have dared to raise their fratricidal liands against their 
brethren are deserving the most extreme punishment, and that 
the Government is justified in adopting any and all measures 
known to civilized warfare to suppress this infernal and wicked 
rebellion at any and every cost. 

" Resolved, That the action of the Su|)ervisors of the County 
in appropriating the sum of $20,000 for the relief of the fami- 
lies of volunteers meets with our hearty approval, and we here- 
by endorse the same, and call upon the next Legislature to 
legalize the said acts of the Supervisors. 

" Resolved, That the local Committees thoroughly canvass 
each Town and procure all the subscriptions they can in aid of 
the enlistment, and the support of the families of volunteers." 

The governor at this time had appointed two citizens in each 
town, who, with the aid of the supervisor and assessors, were 
charged with the duty of enrolling all persons liable to mili- 
tary duty, which they proceeded to do. 

The war committee of the First senatorial district was held 



286 HISTOHY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

at Jamaica, on Thursday, the 4th of September, for the purpose 
of aiding in the organization of a regiment of volunteers and to 
equalize tlie quotas of tlie several counties of the district and 
apportion any deficiencies in those counties among the towns 
that compose them. In this committee Riclimond county was 
represented by Hon. Smitli Ely, William Correy, Nathan Bar- 
rett, William H. Vauderbilt and Henry Lee IVorris, the latter 
of whom was one of the secretaries of the meeting. Among 
other business done it was resolved to recognize and adopt the 
regiment being formed by Colonel Minthorne Tompkins as the 
regiment of the district, and the committee pledged itself to 
spare no effort to fill up the regiment as rapidly as possible, and 
to organize it so as to make it most etficient in the field and a 
credit to the district as well as the country. 

Recruiting stations for this regiment were opened in all parts 
of the Lsland. it was said that the officers at these rendezvous 
wore smiling countenances and made encouraging reports of the 
progress of the work. Fears of a draft were imminent, and this 
stimulated some to volunteer and others to contribute to the 
fund for extra bounties and relief for the families of volunteers. 
Up to the 6th of September there remained three hundred and 
ten of the quota of the county to be made up, bnt little more 
than half of the quota under the two last calls being filled. 

About this time several deserters were captured on the island 
and returned to their regiments. The freedom of speech and of 
the press were shown to be capable of abase, to the injury of the 
common interest. At this time it seemed important to guard 
against such abuses. Occasionally a man was arrested and con- 
fined in Fort Lafayette for disloyal expressions, but they were 
not held in such confinement for any considerable length of 
time. 

A large number of Staten Island men about this time, Sep- 
tember, 1862, enlisted in Spinola's brigade, which was encamped 
at East New York. As the months wore along recruits came 
in so that by the middle of the month fears of an immediate 
draft subsided, the quotas being nearly full. Southfield had ex- 
ceeded hers, and Westfield and Northfield had filled theirs. 
The volunteer fund of Castleton was receiving liberal contribu- 
tions. Of those which up to September 11th amounted to $100 
or more the following is a list : Barrett, Nephews & Co., $300; 
Wm. S. Pendleton, $300; John S. Westervelt, $300; Daniel Gr. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 5:87 

♦ 

Bacon, S3U0; Crabtree & Wilkinson, S'^00; Francis G. Shaw, 
$300; Lucius Tuckerman, $100; Edward F. Davison, $100; 
Bodine Brothers, $100; George C. Ward, $300; John Martin, 
Jr., $150; J. Freeman Tyson, $100; Cornelius Du Bois, $100; 
New York Dyeing and Printing Co., $500; Thomas M. Rian- 
hard, $100; Jolin C. Green, $1,000; Ernest Fielder, $100; John 
M. Pendleton, $100; Edward Benient, $200; C. C. Taber, $300; 
Mrs. William Bard, $200. 

Under the famous internal revenue act, which went into effect 
about this time, the following persons were appointed assistant 
collectors for the towns of this county, which composed col- 
lection districts, each numbered as indicated: Westfield, No. 16, 
William A. Brown; Castleton, No. 17, Robert Rakestraw; 
Middletown, No. 18, Henry Mendell; Northtield, No. 19, Daniel 
Zeluff; Southfield, No. 20, John B. Jacobson. 

By the latter part of October the material of the island had 
become so much exhausted by recruiting that the regiment 
which was intended to represent Staten Island, and be under 
command of Colonel Minthorne Tompkins, lulled up slowly. 
The prospect of filling it soon became so faint, and the need of 
men in the field was so urgent that an order was issued by In- 
spector-General Van Vechten to consolidate three of its com- 
panies with the One hundred and Fifty-sixth which had left 
Kingston, Ulster county, with seven hundred men, and was 
then in the barracks in NewYork city hall park. Accordingly, 
on the 13th and 14tli of November, the companies of Captains 
Schaffner, Shelton and Vaughn were transferred to that regi- 
ment. This gave rise to great dissatisfaction, and great excite 
ment prevailed, amounting almost to a riot. In the midst of 
the tumult one man was stabbed in the back with a bayonet. 
The remaining island companies of Tompkins' regiment became 
disordered and took to the woods and hills, leaving the camp 
at Factoryville almost deserted, being occupied by onlj' about 
forty officers and men. While in this condition, on Monday 
morning, the 17th, the barracks took fire and were nearly de- 
stroyed. The fire was supposed to be the work of an incendiary. 
The Richmond county regiment, which numbered (with a com- 
pany of one hundred men from Flushing which was expected 
to join it), six hundred and fifty men, was now broken up. 
The remaining companies were transferred to the One hundred 
and Fifty-seventh, then encamped at East New York. Of these. 



y, 



I 



288 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

two companies, under Captains Mark Cox and William Hilde- 
brandt, were mainly composed of Staten Island men. Colonel 
Tompkins was offered a position as lieutenant-colonel in the 
One hundred and Fifty-eighth, but declined. His adjutant was 
retained and his senior captain was made major of the One 
hundred and Fifty-sixth. 

In this sluggish condition of the work of recruiting the pi'os- 
pect of a draft again began to rise. The day was appointed for 
the drawing to take place, and Judge H. B. Metcalfe was ap- 
pointed commissioner for superintending it, and William G. 
Eadie examining surgeon. These officials sat daily at the sur- 
rogate's office, at Richmond, from October 22d till the day be- 
fore the draft was to take place, to hear any claims of persons 
liable to military duty for exemption. But the eff'orts which 
were made here, by enthusiastic public meetings and other means, 
were sufficient to push forward the worli so that no draft was 
required in Richmond county. At a meeting of the senatorial 
district committee at Jamaica on the 6th of November, the 
county was able to show the following encouraging report: 

Towns. Quota. Enlisted. 

Middletown 193 211 

Castleton 209 241 

Northffeld ., 150 127 

Southfield 113 123 

Westfiedd 123 94 

County 788 796 

List of men recruited on Staten Island by Charles G. Smith, 
First Lieutenant Company B, One Hundred and Thirty-second 
regiment, up to November 19, 1862. 

From Soutlijield: William Church, Edward Henkel, Bryan 
Carney, Edward Jaspart, Peter Schmidt. From Middletown: 
Caspar Elmer, William Elmer, James Foley, Patrick Gorman, 
Smith W. Higgins, Robert Huston, William L. Ludlum, George 
Lambert, Conrad Liebacher, Edward B. Murray, Thos. McKee, 
Charles Ockhert, Bernard Schmit, Theodore Simonson, Fred- 
erick W. Taxter, Addison White, John Williams. 

The following list was recruited at Port Richmond, by David 
Stothers, ffrst lieutenant, afterward cai)tain of Company K, 
the same regiment. 

NortJifleld: Charles H. Jones, Jacob V. P. Long, Cornelius 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 289 

Jones, sergeants; Charles J. Elms, Freeman W. Jones, corpo- 
rals; Charles Applebee, Wm. G. E. Decker, John R. Patter- 
son, Joseph Emery, William Durrua, George W. Smith, James 
W. Houseman, John H. Leonard. Castleton: James Ma- 
honey, David McConnell, George Turner. Southfield: Gilbert 
H. Randolph. 

The above were honorably discharged at the disbandment of 
the regiment. The following were discharged previously: 

Hiram C. Decker, John A. Taylor, Hyacinth Burke, Michael 
Valliere, Andrew P. Van Pelt, John B. Corsen, and Garrett E. 
Van Pelt, Northfield; William C. Dunn, Southfield, and Joseph 
H. Caine, Castleton, for disability; Richard C. Johnson, Nich- 
olas Cubberly, Vreeland Johnson, Bedell Jones, John Brinly, 
and Peter S. Brinly, Northtield, transferred to the navy; Henry 
Valliere, iSTorthfield, to be Hospital Steward; Henry B. Tibbetts, 
Northfield, to U. S. Signal Corps; Charles E. Smith, Castleton, 
to Ninety-ninth regiment N. Y. V.; Jacob Bowman, Northfield, 
killed at Bachelor's Creek, N. C. ; Edward V. Ford, sergeant, 
Northfield; Benjamin B. Kinsey, sergeant, Northlield; Abram 
B. Houseman, Castleton; George Davis, Northfield; James 
Wilson, Castleton, and Aaron Beatty, died in Andersonville 
prison; Jacob R. Decker, and AVilliam W. Stilwell, Northfield; 
Isaac B. Lewis, and James G. Woglom, Westfield, died of 
disease contracted in service, and James Shaunessy, Castleton, 
deserted. 

We have the following particulars in regard to the Staten 
Island men who were in company B, of Tompkin's regiment, 
which after the consolidation with the One Hundred and Fifty- 
sixth became company K, of that regiment. Captain Sheltou 
resigned at Long Island, on account of sickness. The officers 
then became James J. Hoyt, of Castleton, captain; Magnus 
Bouscher, first lieutenant, and Edward Openshaw, second 
lieutenant. The first and second served through the war, the 
third till June, 1864. First Sergeant Charles Westren, of Mid 
dletown, was promoted to be a captain, and remained, being 
now a captain in the regular army. William Seaton, of Cas- 
tleton, sergeant, was promoted to the rank of a captain. John 
J. Farrell, of Castleton, sergeant, returned from a rebel prisf)n 
at the close of the war, having been taken at Cedar Creek. John 
Peterson, private, became a first sergeant. Isaac Fullagar, Cas- 
tleton, corporal, served through the war; Evan Riley, Castle- 

19 



290 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

ton, served through tlie war; Michael Cotter, Castleton, dis 
charged for physical disability; William Gill, Castleton, and 
Cornelius Sullivan, drummer, served through the war, — were 
members of this company. 

Early in January, 1863, the supervisors passed a resolution, 
authorizing an additional loan of twenty thousand dollars on 
the bonds of the county, for the payment of bounties and re- 
lief, trusting to the action of the legislature to sanction the 
same. The bill legalizing tliis action, us well as that previously 
had in raising money for war purposes passed the legislature 
February 21, 1863. Most of the towns drew upon this fund. 
The town of Southfield was the onlj^ one in the county that did 
not, but filled its quota under the calls of July, 1862, and paid 
its bounties entirely by voluntary contributions. These contri- 
butions in that town amounted to seven thousand four hundred 
and sixty-two dollars. Bounties were paid to one hundred and 
twenty-two recruits, amounting to seven thousand three hundred 
and twenty dollars, and the balance was used for other pur- 
poses. In Northfield eighty-eight recruits received fifty dollars 
each, and ten dollars each additional was paid for recruiting 
them, making five thousand one hundred and thirty dollars 
paid in that town for filling these calls. In Westfield five 
thousand one hundred and forty dollars was expended for the 
same purpose. Meanwhile, the energies of the benevolent were 
constant in contributing to the relief and support of the fami- 
lies of those who had gone to the scenes of war, and to works 
of love and tender regard in tlie preparation of articles of ne- 
cessity, comfort and luxury for the soldiers in the army and in 
the hospitals. 

That some fear of opposition to the proposed draft of 1863, 
and to the plans of the government, was entertained thus early 
is shown by the following newspaper paragraph, printed in 
April, though what grounds there were, or to what extent they 
were manifest, does not appear. The opposition was not, how- 
ever, of sufficient magnitude to bring about any serious results: 
"A United States Detective paid a visit to the North Shore 
last week, to ascertain vvhether any anti-conscription meetings 
had been held in that quarter ; and, if so, to get the names of 
the officers and speakers, what was said and done, and who at- 
tended the meetings. He states that he has the names of thir- 
ty-three individuals who require looking after ; also that their 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 291 

places of rendezvous are watched, and that the government has 
established a reliable telegrai^h station in the midst of them, or 
in other words, a spy to report their movements. The detective 
is said to favor grave stones as convenient places of observa- 
tion." 

The names of persons appointed to make the enrollment un- 
der the conscription act of 1863, which was made in June, were 
as follows : For Castleton, Edward Jones ; Middletown, J. J. 
Clute ; Northfield, Simon Haughwout ; Southfield, John Jacob- 
son ; Westfield, . 

The quota of Kichmond county in the call of 1863, was for 
four hundred men, who were to be taken from those enrolled 
between the ages of twenty and thirty-five, unless a deficiency 
in that class should necessitate drawing upon the class bej^ond 
that age. While the question of enforcing the draft was being 
discussed, and its execution api^eared as a probability of the 
near future, events developed which gave this locality a sudden 
and undesirable notoriety. 

From its proximity to New York citj^ this county could not 
but feel every pulsation of popular emotion that disturbed the 
bosom of that city, and when the celebrated draft riots of July, 
1863, filled it with the horrors of an inferno it is perhaps no 
more than a reasonable consequence that some kindred spirit 
should find expression here. On the island the public mind 
was in a state of high fermentation. Riot was in the air, and 
it would seem that men hardly knew what they did. For two 
years the public mind here had been almost constantly wrought 
up to fever heat, and now the prospect of a draft being made to 
fill the quota of four hundred men in this county under the 
recent call, but few of whom were already enlisted, made a 
strain upon the public nerve which it was in a poor condition 
to bear with tranquility. For a moment the steadj' arm of 
patriotism seemed to falter, weakened as it had been by the 
drain upon it caused by the withdrawal of hundreds from the 
community to the field of the war. Sober counsels wavered 
and the influence of men of means was weak, because of the <jb- 
noxious clause in the conscription act which promised to ex- 
empt all drafted men who should pay three hundred dollai-s. 
In this weak moment the baser elements of society gathered 
strength, and disorder attempted to block the wheels of organ- 
ized government. 



292 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTy. 

In this critical moment the innocent colored population were 
among the first to receive the demoniacal thrusts of unchained 
hatred. In McKeon street, Stapleton, a large number of this 
class resided, and there was located their African church. On 
Tuesday evening, July 14th, crowds began to gather and indica- 
tions of trouble appeared that alarmed the people of this neigh- 
borhood with fears that an attack upon thera and upon this 
church was about to be made. Rumors were circulated that a 
mob was about to burn the houses of the negroes and their 
church, but the nigiit passed without any such demonstration 
being made. 

About the same time a large crowd, variously estimated to 
number from fifty to two hundred persons, a large number of 
whom were boys, proceeded to the Tompkins Lyceum, in Van 
Duzer street, and with the noisy demonstrations of a band of wild 
Indians, forced the outer door, and took all the muskets that 
were stored there in the drill-room of the Tompkins cadets. 
Another drill-room near Stapleton landing was similarly robbed 
of muskets. Different estimates placed the number of guns 
thus seized by this mob at from thirty to three hundred. 

The mob, gathering numerical strength as it went, reached 
the Vanderbilt landing railroad station at about midnight, 
where they set fire to a building used as a car house, and 
burned it to the ground. Two engine companies who came to 
the scene were forbidden to interfere, but they were permitted 
to direct their efforts toward saving the dwelling of Mrs. Cor- 
son, whose house stood near by, and in this they succeeded. 

The nucleus of another mob was formed on the same evening 
at Factoryville, which proceeded eastward, gathering strength 
as it proceeded, making night hideous with shoutings of "No 
Draft" and many other violent and threatening expressions, 
too odious to be repeated. At New Brighton they proceeded 
to the ice cream saloon of a colored man by the name of Green, 
who fortunately had been apprised of their coming, and had 
closed his place and tied. They then entered the drug store of 
Mr. Christie with such noisy demonstrations that the propri- 
etor fled to the cellar for safety. But being assured that he 
was not the object of tlieir search he returned, and tlie mob sat- 
isfied themselves that the negro G-reen was not there, and de- 
parted. While they were thus drifting about the streets of 
New Brighton the Rev. Mr. Conron, of St. Peter's church, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUKTY. 293 

gained their ears, and by liis influence they were pacified and 
indnced to disperse and go to their homes. 

On the afternoon of the following day a mob, consisting of 
nearly fifty men, made an attack upon the houses of the negroes 
living in McKeon street, Stapleton. These were mostly small 
one-story houses. One after another the windows were broken 
in, the doors torn down and the furniture and materials inside 
were broken up and thrown into the street. The inmates of 
these houses had fled to the woods on the previous evening, 
and this, no doubt, saved some of their lives. One house, be- 
longing to one Wormsley, who was particularly obnoxious, 
and whom rumors had credited with advocating arming the 
blacks to assist in enforcing the draft, was burned to the ground. 
A three-story brick house occupied by families in the upper 
stories and a grocery store below, was completely "gutted," 
the mob heljping themselves to groceries as they were thrown 
into the street. In one of the houses a lame man had remained. 
He was dragged from his bouse and heartlessly beaten, and 
others were kicked and beaten as they were met on the high- 
ways. A few colored persons who remained quietly in their 
houses were unmolested, doubtless escaping the notice of 
or not being known to the leaders of the mob. An attempt 
was made to burn the church, but the fire was extinguished by 
a friendly hand before much damage was done. A colored 
coachman was attacked as he was driving his coach on the 
afternoon of the 18th, at Vanderbilt landing. Several men 
seized the horse, while others leaped upon the seat and com- 
menced beating the driver. By the timely interference of a 
gentleman the negro was rescued and sent in a small boat to 
Fort Hamilton for safety. 

On the north side of the island rumors of intended attacks 
upon the leading republicans and negroes were flying about and 
creating great alarm. Many families packed up their valu- 
ables and left their houses. In some the male members only 
remained to guard their homes while the female members went 
to some place of supposed safety. The negroes fled, some to 
the woods, and some to the Jersey shore. Private meetings of 
citizens were held, and guards were set at various points along 
the shore, and the streets were patrolled for several nights. No 
serious outbreak occurred there. 

At Richmond, the sheriff, suspecting that an attempt would 



294 HISTORY OF pacinio>-D county. 

be made to seize a negro prisoner who was in the jail on a cliarge 
of rape, obtained a military force from the camp at New Dorp 
and had the jail guarded for a day or two, and then had the 
prisoner referred to conveyed to the Tombs in New York city. 

In tliis highly excited condition of the public mind a mass 
meeting was held at Clifton on Wednesday, the loth. This 
was presided over by Messrs. William Shaw, Dwight Townsend, 
and Mr. Fellows, and was attended by many respectable citi- 
zens, the bulk of the meeting being made up of the laborers at 
the fortifications. The Rev. Father Lewis addressed the meet- 
ing with conciliatory language, exhorting respect to law and 
assnring them that no iinjust demands would be made upon 
them. Speeches were also made by Messrs. Dwight Townsend, 
Robert Christie, Jr., and Mr. Hull, after which the following 
preamble and resolutions were passed : 

" W7iereas, In the sense of this meeting the Conscription Act 
sought to be enforced by the Government is oppressive and un- 
just in its enactments, and under present circumstances un- 
called for ; be it therefore 

" Hesolved, 1. That we call upon the Governor of the State 
of New York to, without delay, have the constitutionality of 
this Conscription Act tested before our State courts, by whose 
decision we pledge ourselves to abide. 

" 2. That in case our State Courts should decide the Con- 
scription to be constitutional, we will, under the $300 clause, 
procure a substitute for every drafted man in the town of Soutli- 
lield who is not able or not willing to leave his home and 
family. 

" 3. That we pledge ourselves, one and all, to support, with 
all our might, the Government in its great efforts to restore the 
Union and the full force of the Constitution in all the States ; 
and to uphold everywhere, byword and example, the principles 
of law and order." 

Handbills were also distributed, signed by the town officers, 
announcing that the draft had been stopped. This action 
probably averted any uprising of rioters that might have been 
brewing in that section of the island. 

But it would appear that riot was in the atmosphere and as 
though violence had a free license for the time. On Thursday, 
the 16th, two ruffians attacked John Ryan, of Cherry lane, 
Castleton, as he was going home from work, and brutally beat 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 295 

him and robbed him of liis clothes which lie wore, leaving him 
only a shirt on his person. They had stolen a horse and wagon 
at Port Richmond, and continued their evening's riot by knock- 
ing another man down, smashitag a vehicle and "cleaning out" 
a tavern, after wliich they were secured and committed to jail. 

But a still move serious affray occurred at Vanderbilt land- 
ing on the 20th. In the early evening two or thi'ee soldiers were 
in a diinking saloon, when one of them fired his musket at a 
boy. This enraged some others who were present to such an 
extent that they set tipon the soldiers and beat them so badly 
as to leave them for dead. A train of cars came itp just then, 
having on board a company of soldiers, who came out and com- 
menced firing uj^on the crowd that had by this time collected. 
They no doubt took the crowd to be a mob gathering and de- 
termined to scatter it. In doing so their shot took effect in the 
body of one Charles Murphy with such force that he died 
shortly after. About ten men were arrested by the soldiers and 
taken to camp. One or l)otli of the soldiers who began the 
disturbance died within a few days. 

The county subsequently paid damages for property de- 
stroyed in these riots as follows, to which expense may be ad- 
ded about ten thousand dollars incurred in contesting several 
of the claims in the courts : John B. Smith, $61.00; S. I. R. R. 
Co., $1,336.00; J. M. Evans & Son, $222.38; Henrietta Corson, 
$91.50; William Wilson, $3,697.96; Sarah Cornish, $585.21; 
Jacob Gunsett, $215.46; Rosetta Graves, $791.97; Mary Brown, 
$197.95; Abraham Wilson, $352.08; Aaron Dunn, $297.18; Pat- 
rick Sullivan, $900.00; M. Tool, $382.50; John Lewis, $17.00; 
Levi Purnell, $700.98; Edward Felix, $888.94; Charles Worms- 
ley, $330.18; Oliver Wilson, $354.40; J. J. Galligher, $120.95; 
Daniel A. Lewis, $798.87; Eleanor S. Wormsley, $1,187.08; 
David Wormsley, $3,638.44: total, $17,207.99. 

On the 25th of August the supervisors passed resolutions au- 
thorizing the county treasurer to raise, on the bonds of the 
county, fifty thousand dollars to be appropriated as might be 
necessary in providing for those who might be drafted and were 
not able to pay the exemption fee of three hundred dollars, un- 
der the conscription act which, it was expected, would be en- 
forced in the First congressional district. The enrollment had 
been revised and corrected throughout the county preparatory 
to such a draft. 



296 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

The draft took place at Jamaica, on Monday, August 30th, 
under the supervision of Provost Marshall Edwin Rose. The 
day passed without any disorderly demonstrations. The num- 
ber enrolled from this county was 2,205, which was distributed 
among the towns as follows: Castleton, 559 ; Southfield, 463; 
Northfield, 444; Westfield, 438; Middletown, 301. The number 
to be drawn from these was five hundred and ninety-four, which 
included an addition of fiftj^ per cent, to make up the deficiency 
which should result from exemptions. 

After the draft was made notices were served on the drafted 
men, requiring them to appear before the provost marshall at 
Jamaica by a certain time or be accounted as deserters. The 
officer whose duty it was to serve these notices, while so en- 
gaged in Wood road was set on by the women of the neighbor- 
hood, armed with brickbats and hot water, and so fierce was 
their onslaught that the officer fled before them Later he se- 
cured the assistance of a squad of men from a neighboring 
camj^ and completed the fulfillment of his duties. But few men 
were actually gained for the service by this draft, the majority 
of those who were held paying the commutation fee of three 
hundred dollars. The supervisors meantime raised the proposed 
loan for this purpose from fifty thousand dollars, as it had been 
fixed by their vote of August 25, to seventy-five thousand dol- 
lars. This action was approved by resolutions passed at a mass 
meeting of the citizens and tax-payers of the county held at 
the pagoda at Clifton park on the 19th of September. The 
bonds issued for this purpose were disposed of in a very few 
days. The five hundred and ninety four drafted men were ac- 
counted for October 14th, in the following manner: Seventy-four 
were aliens ; ten furnished substitutes ; ninety-four were exempt 
for physical disability ; one hundred and three were exempt for 
other causes ; one hundred and sixty-two commuted, and one 
hundred and fifty-one failed to report. 

Under (he call of the president for three hundred thousand 
men made in October, 1863, which was to be filled by January 
5, 1864, the quota from each town of this county was: Castleton, 
seventy-seven ; Southfield, sixty-five ; Northfield, sixtj^-two : 
Westfield, sixty-two ; Middletown, forty-two. Two months 
passed seeing but little done toward meeting it. A mass 
meeting was called by the supervisors, which convened at 
the court house on the 19th of December, to give popular ex- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 297 

pression to the means to be adopted to meet the call. Resolu- 
tions were passed calling on the supervisors to raise one hundred 
and twenty thousand dollars, or as much of that sum as might be 
necessary, and to pay to each volunteer, drafted man or substi- 
tute, counting in the quota, four hundred dollars, and to open 
a recruiting office in each town and to appoint suitable persons 
to attend to the same. About the 1st of January, 1S64, re- 
enlistments were taking place in the field, and these were 
allowed to count to the credit of localities as though they had 
taken place at home, when so specified and arranged. By this 
and other means the supervisors were able to fill the quota and 
so avoid a draft. The quota was completed early In March. 

We may remark in passing, that the early months of 1864, 
witnessed an unusual degree of activity in business on the 
north shore of the island. Real estate seemed unusually active 
there and also on other parts of the island, especiallj' on the 
western shore. 

Another call for troops was made in March, 1864. To provide 
for it the supervisors met on the 18th and determined to con- 
tract with some responsible party to fill the quota of one hun- 
dred men which belonged to this county to furnish. They 
published an advertisement on the following day inviting par- 
ties wishing to contract for filling the quota to present themselves 
with their sureties at a meeting appointed for the 22d instant. 
A draft was ordered for April 15tli, if the quota was not other- 
wise filled before that time. The supervisors on the 11th 
preceding, offered three hundred and fifty dollars each for men 
— two hundred dollars of which was to be paid to the recruit, 
and one hundred and fifty dollars to the party who should pro- 
cure him. The quota was filled during April. 

A new enrollment of persons liable to do military duty was 
ordered in May, and the work of enrolling began about the 1st 
of June. The names of all who could prove causes of exemp- 
tion were stricken off, and those who had been omitted or 
had since come within the range of age or residence were 
added. 

In July a call was made for 500,000 more. To arrange for 
filling the quota under this a mass meeting was held at Clifton 
Park on the 26th, when resolutions were passed placing the 
entire business of raising money and filling the quota in the 
hands of the supervisors and calling upon them to exercise 



298 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

those duties. On August Stli the committee which had been 
appointed to solicit subscriptions to a loan reported to the 
supervisors that they had secured 875,000. Under this call 
the quotas for this county were: Middletown, 123; Southiield, 
70; Westfield, 77; Castleton, 154; Northfield, 119; making a 
total of 543. The supervisors, on the 22d of August, resolved 
to establish a recruiting office on the island, and offered s200 
for each recruit and $200 additional to the agent or broker 
procuring him, or 8400 to every man liable to draft who should 
secure a substitute to be credited to the county. Camp Wasli- 
ington, just outside the quarantine walls, was designated as the 
recruiting depot. For 8600 deposited with the supervisors by 
any citizen liable to draft, before September 5th, they would un- 
dertake to procure a substitute for him, such substitutes to be 
supplied in the order in which api^lications and deposits were 
made. The prices mentioned were not sufficient to procure the 
needed recruits. The price advanced until 8700 apieue was paid 
for them. Then about the latter part of September the quota was 
still one hundred and eighty men short, and the county had no 
ready money with which to pay for more. Arrangements were 
effected, however, by which the county bonds were exchanged 
for men, and the quota was filled, though a form of drafting 
was begun on the 3d of October. 

About this time large sums of money were made speculating 
in recruits. Human flesh was bought and sold like cattle in 
the shambles. Fresh emigrants from foreign countries and 
others, whom circumstances in various ways had brought to this 
step, were seized and controlled by brokers who understood the 
means of holding them, and offered in the market where they 
would command the highest price. The poor victims them- 
selves received perhaps a paltry hundred dollars, more or less, 
while the greater part of the money paid by the people went 
into the pockets of brokers, officials and others who had the 
manipulating of the business. Enormous sums of money were 
raised on corporate obligations and appropriated with a reck- 
lessness that would have been appalling at any other time 
than under the exigency of the hour. Charges of complicity 
with the brokers and sharing in the spoils were often made 
by popular gossip against the servants of the people. It was 
impossible at the time and is still more so at this late day to 
reach the facts which would decide in every case whether those 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 299 

charges were true or false. Whilst the meagre and often im- 
perfect records which boards of supervisors and other officials 
left sometimes give reasonable ground for suspicion that 
crooked work was being carried on behind the scenes, it is 
doubtless true that many an honest man, whose actions were 
prompted by patriotic and unselfish motives, has been made 
the object of unjust imputations in connection with this busi- 
ness. These remarks are founded on observations made in tiie 
history of different counties. They apply to Richmond as well 
as to many others. 

A revision of the enrollment was made in December, 1864, 
under the direction of an enrolling board in each town, which 
was composed of the supervisor, town clerk and one inspector 
of election. 

A mass meeting was held at the court house, January 6, 1865, 
to provide for raising the quota under the call of December 19th, 
for 300,000 men. The supervisors were instructed to fill the 
quota and raise the money necessary on the credit of the 
county. They later resolved to raise two hundred men. Fre- 
quent meetings were held by the board, but the work of filling 
the quota progressed slowlj'. A draft finally took place on the 
25th of February, at which four hundred and forty-six names 
were drawn. Previous to the drawing the supervisors, Feb- 
ruary 18th, offered bounties of i?300 for one year's men, $400 
for two years' men, §600 for three years' men and $100 
additional "hand money" to the person presenting the recruit, 
or the same additional sum to the recruit presenting himself. 
The same bounties, but not the " hand-money," were offered to 
men liable to draft who should secure substitutes before the 
draft. The drafted men were not required to report as long as 
enlistments were active. 

Great dissatisfaction arose during the latter part of 1864 and 
the early part of 1865 in regard to the management of the 
county finances. It was charged that the supervi-sors and officials 
acting under their authority were using more money in procur- 
ing recruits than was necessary, and intimations were even pro- 
mulgated that those officials were using their positions to en- 
rich themselves by sharing with the brokers the enormous 
commissions that were allowed for procuring recruits. 

Whether much or little foundation existed for this dissatis- 
faction, it arose to such a pitch that public meetings were held 



300 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUKTY. 

in some of the towns to discuss measures for the pi'otection of 
the tax-payers against the wanton increase of their burdens. 
The debt of the county at the beginning of 1865 had reached 
an amount exceeding $700,000. Such a meeting was lield at 
Giesser's hotel, Middletown, on the first of February, at which 
resolutions were passed declaring that in the opinion of the 
majority of the citizens of the town there was great misman- 
agement in town and county offices, owing to a lack of capacity 
and economy in public matters, resulting in enormous taxation 
for which the citizens received no due return; that a new, in- 
telligent and economical administration of affairs must be inau- 
gurated; that to accomplish this end they would lay aside party 
considerations and put forth their utmost exertions to elect such 
men as by public consent were without suspicion or reproach; 
and to appoint a committee to aid in bringing before the state 
legislature the petition of the people of the county for a 
thorough investigation of the accounts of the supervisors. A 
similar meeting was held at Fireman's hall, Port Richmond, on 
the 8th inst., at which similar resolutions were passed. 

The result of this agitation was the election of a board of 
supervisors, nearly all of whom were new members, and men 
in whom the people had full confidence as to their ability and 
disposition to dischai'ge the responsible duties of their office in 
a conscientious and creditable manner. Still however, a change 
in the board of supervisors did not remedy all the evils which 
annoyed the people. Abuses existed in the management of the 
i-ecruiting office, as the following paragraph from the " Ga- 
zelte,'''' at the time will illustrate. 

" A Swindling shop. — The recruiting office at Nautilus Hall, 
Tompkinsville, Staten Island. The majority of the persons 
brought to this place, or going there voluntarily are swindled 
out of a large part of the bounties they receive from the Count}', 
and the harpies who make part and parcel of the machine 
operated there, fill their pockets with the plunder. These 
facts we have from the most credible witnesses, from whom 
we can obtain dates, names, amounts and particulars of trans- 
actions, if necessary. The iniquities have become known to 
the Sui:)ervisors, and they have made strong efforts to prevent 
their continuance, but in spite of all their labor and remon- 
strances, there is but too much reason to know that they have 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 301 

continued with unabated force, although possibly disguised to 
some extent." 

By the end of March, ISGii, the quota under the last call 
was filled, to the number of about two hundred and eighty- 
eight men. The surroundings of the recruiting station, and 
the management of that work, as well as the labors of the 
board of supervisors to reform its unrighteous practices, are 
graphically pictured in the following language by a local paper 
at the time. 

"Col. Barrett, Supervisor of Castleton, and Hon. Thomas 
Child, of Northfield, visited the recruiting station almost daily 
and remained several hours. The attention they gave to the 
matter and the vigilance they exercised considerably facilitated 
the operations, although we understand that many men were 
fleeced of their money almost under their very eyes, and they 
were quite unable to prevent it in consequence of want of power 
over the physician and the mustering officer in charge. * * * 

"A sight of the cormorants, vultures, haipies, blacklegs, 
loafers and swindlers who have held high carnival in and about 
the recruiting station ever since there were men to be gulled 
and robbed, and tricks to be played, would have disgusted any 
one but his infernal majesty himself. Nor were these vile char- 
acters all imported, but some of our own citizens, slyly at first, 
and then more openly, indulged in similar practices, and to 
their lasting shame be it said, greedily grasped at and got a 
share of the spoils. Men of mature years, men of respectability 
as the world defines the term, came to look upon an association 
with the lowest grade of society, and the reception of a hand- 
ful of bank notes from unfortunate wretches whose families at 
that moment lacked bread, as a thing quite unobjectionable! 
As there is now nothing left to pick but the bones, we trust the 
creatures will disperse, and that such a crew will never assem- 
ble again on this side of Tophet." 

The various sums authorized to be raised on bonds of the 
county for the purposes of the war at different times were as 
follows, the dates given indicating when the resolutions were 
passed by the board of supervisors : 

Aug. 22, 1862, for relief of volunteers' families $20,000 

Dec. 16, " " " " " 20,000 

Aug. 25, 1863, for relief of drafted men 50,000 

Sept. 9, " " " " 25,000 



302 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Dec. 29, 1863, to obtain volunteers 125,000 

Feb. 13, 1864. " " 180,000 

July 28, " bounties for volunteers 25o,000 

Jan. 28, 1865, for filling the quota 75,000 

Feb. 16, " " " 75,000 

Feb. 25, " " " 75,000 

Total amount $895,000 

Not only in the disbursement of funds for the relief of its 
citizens and the support of dependent families of volunteers, 
but in supplying the strong arm of her native citizens to fight 
the battles of their country, Staten Island bore her full propor- 
tion of the burdens of the war. Material was furnished to forty- 
five regiments of infantry, six regiments of artillery, and four 
of cavalry, besides some to the contingents of other states. The 
island was more especially represented in the Empire brigade, 
where it had nearly two companies ; in the Excelsior brigade 
of the armj^ of the Potomac ; in the Eighty-second, One hun- 
dred and Thirty-third, One hundred and Fifty-sixth and One 
hundred and Seventy-fifth New York infantry ; in Serrell's 
famous Engineer regiment in the far West ; in the old Seventy- 
ninth "Highlanders"; in the "Mounted Rifles"; in the 
Fourth artillery ; and in the Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, and Fifty- 
third "Zouaves." According to careful estimates more than 
eight hundred men joined the army from this county. Of this 
number, who left their homes full of health and vigor, it is esti- 
mated that about one hundred and eighty fell on the field or 
died of sickness or wounds in our camps. Nearly forty were 
brought back here to be buried among their kindred. 

The Seventy-ninth Highlanders, N. Y. S M., left New York 
for Washington on Sunday, June 2,1861, having, in one company 
connected with it, the following men from Staten Island : John 
W. Morse, Herman C. Buecke, Walter N. Brown, Theodore 
Hall, George H. McCready, William White, J. J. Thaxter, A. 
Miranda, Rheinhart Snyder, Richard Wall, James Bancker, 
Edward Bancker, John Conghic, David Wilkins, Benjamin 
Wilkins. Daniel Beatty, William B. Lusch, William Simon- 
son, Edward Barker, James Breen, Edward Brice, Michael 
Kirkman, Robert Kelly, Patrick Carlin, Bernard Scanlon, 
Thomas McAdams, George Howarth, David Howarth, 
Eugene Burke, John Johnson, James Colgan, William 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTV. 303 

Ross, John Racey, John Breen, David Sands, Peter 
Tushingham, William Smith, J. Smith, Richard Barrett, 
Charles Wilhelm, Charles Piratzki, Philip Daly. 

During the war the island was made a rendezvous for bring- 
ing together different parts of organizations preparatory to mov- 
ing forward to the seat of war. A large number of regiments 
were encamped here for longer or shorter periods, while awaiting 
more perfect organization or drill, or more definite orders for 
moving. No complete record of these can be given, bat we have, 
at considerable pains, gathered fragments from which we are 
able to give the list of camps and manj' of the organizations 
that occcupied them, with some indication of the dates when 
they were so occupied, and occasionally some other information 
in regard to them. This information we condense in the fol- 
lowing paragraphs : 

Camp Washington was located at the quarantine grounds, 
partly inside and partly outside the walled enclosure. Bar- 
racks were erected on the outside. Here were Wilson's Zouaves, 
May and June, 1861 ; Serrell's regiment of artizans and en- 
gineers, August and September, 1861 ; Yates' Rities, August, 
1861 ; the Empire Zouaves, August, 1861 ; German Rangers, 
September, 1861 ; Siegel Rifles, September, 1861 ; Swain's Cav- 
alry, Mai'ch, 1862 ; Colonel Tompkins' Regiment, September, 
1862, whence it was moved to barracks erected for it on land of 
Colonel Barrett at Factoryville ; Second Duryea's Zouaves, Oc- 
tober, 1862 ; inside the walls were Allen's Regiment, May, 1861; 
Colonel Bartlett's Naval Brigade, May, 1861 ; Third Irish Vol- 
unteers, August, 1861 ; Union Rities, September, 1861 ; Scott's 
Nine Hundred (Eleventh N. Y. Cavalry), March, 1862 ; Eighty- 
first N. Y., March, 1862 ; First National (Monitors), August 
and September, 1862. 

Camp Arthur was located near the quarantine grounds. It 
was established in June, 1861 ; the British Volunteers and Mc- 
Clellan Rifles were here in August, 1861 ; and the Lancers in 
September, 1861. 

A camp was made on the Dr. Smith farm at Old Town in May, 
1861. This farm presented a level sward of about one hundred 
acres, giving a fine jjarade ground. The old stone house was 
occupied by the officers. 

Camp Vanderbilt was near New Dorp. Here the Washington 
Zouaves were encamped in September, 1861. 



o 



304 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Camp Yates was at New Dorp. Here were the Seventh regi- 
ment and the Thirty-second cavalry in May, 1861. While the 
latter regiment was here the ladies of Staten Island presented 
it with a flag. The presentation was made with appropriate 
ceremonies on June 5th. About seventy-flve ladies were present. 
Dr. Ephraim Clark made the presentation with a very happy 
little speech, which was responded to by Mr. Matthewson, the 
officer in command. The flag was then raised on its staff, 
amid the cheers of the assembled multitude. 

Camp Lafayette was at New Dorp. It was occupied by the 
Garde Lafayette (Fifty-fifth) in August and September, 18G1 ; 
and by the Warren Rifles in March. 1862. 

Camp Leslie, at Clifton Park, was neai' Fort Tompkins. Here 
were Col. Cone's Clinton Guard, August, 1861; and the 
D'Epeneuil Zouaves (Fifty third regiment), September, 1861. 

Camp McClellan was on land of Samuel Burger, near Fac- 
toryville, on land lying between the Shore road and Castleton 
avenue. A high, board fence was built around it, and a guard 
house and other buildings were erected. The McClellan rifles 
were here Sejitember to November, 1861. Their departure for 
the front, on the twenty-second, was, according to a local paper, 
"to the great joy of those who resided in the vicinity of the 
camp. They burned four hundred feet of Mr. Edward Be- 
ment's fence, had a great liking for chickens, and some of them 
were not averse to anything that hands could carry off." 

Camp Herndon was located at Stapleton flats, and here the Ira 
Harris cavalry was encamped in August and September, 1861. 

Camp Morrison was on A. Ward's land, at the base of Pa- 
vilion hill. It was occupied by the Cameron light infantry in 
August, 1861. 

Camp Low, at Elm Park, after being occupied a few weeks by 
the Morgan artillery, was broken up about the middle of No- 
vember, 1861. Of their departure it was said : 

"'Such a scene as ensued on Wednesday night and the suc- 
ceeding morning baffles descrii:>tion. Suffice it to say that in 
the afternoon, when preparations were being made for the de- 
IJarture of a portion of the regiment, a large number of men 
were found with their eyes in mourning, holes in their heads, 
bloody noses, palsied legs and tongues, torn clothes, and in a 
dilapidated condition generally. There were, of course, many 
honorable exceptions to this rule. Companies A to H left the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. • 305 

camp and took their way to tlie shore, and were received on 
board of the steamboat Atlas, and thence transferred to the 
cars. Quite a number of men were missing. Those whose legs 
refused to support them were carried down in carts ; such as 
had only a small brick in their hats managed to get along pretty 
well with a comrade supporting them on either side. While 
waiting at the wharf the soldiers indulged in cheering." 

Camp Ward was at Port Richmond. It was occupied by 
Colonel Doubleday's regiment while forming from November, 
1861, to February 10, 1862. 

Camp Scott, one of the most notable camps of the period, 
was atStapleton. Here were the Excelsior Brigade, May, 1861; 
Ira Harris Guards, September. 1861 ; Second Ira Harris Cavalry 
(Sixth N. Y.), December, 1861 ; and Corcoran' s Irish Legion, 
September to November, 1862. While it was occupied by the 
Excelsior Brigade it was under the command of Col Don. Wil- 
liamson. In order to preserve the peace and security of the 
neighboring inhabitants an order given by General Sickles was 
promulgated throughout the camp on the 30th of May, requiring 
field officers to be present with their regiments in camp, forbid- 
ding officers or privates leaving camp without the permission 
of specified officers and in accordance with certain restrictions, 
requiring a regular system of drill, directing the severe jiunish- 
ment of trespassing on or interference with the property or per- 
sons of citizens, forbidding the sale of intoxicating liquors in 
or about the encampment, and calling upon the local authori- 
ties to withhold licenses from taverns in the neighborhood. By 
the enforcement of these orders and improved discipline, the 
annoyances of drunken and marauding bands of men from the 
encampments were in a measure obviated. A picket was placed 
at the door of every open liquor saloon in the neighborhood to 
prevent the men from the camp getting liquor. The following 
description of the camp was given in June, 1861 : 

" Camp Scott wears a beautiful and jjicturesque appearance. 
Across the broad plateau selected for the encampment, large 
numbers of white tents gleam in the sunshine. Among them are 
broad streets and avenues, and with their four thousand ten- 
ants the place seems the site of some bustling city sprung into 
existence in a night. Stricter discipline prevails than in most 
of the camps we have seen. Around the edge, but in no in- ■ 
stance inside of the lines, men and women with apples, candies, 

30 



306 IIISTORV OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

oranges, nuts and various tempting articles, ply their trade, 
and do a good business. On Sunday afternoon, in the e.xpec- 
tation of seeing a full dress parade, great numbers of visitors 
were upon the ground. Carriages, carts, and jaunting cars of 
all sorts and sizes ; men, women, children and babies of all 
kinds and degrees were there." 

The condition of this camp and its surroundings in the latter 
part of 1861 are set forth in tlie published diary of an army 
surgeon (Thomas I. Ellis, M. D.) who had medical supervision 
over it for a while, and wlio writes as follows . 

"The wooden building used as a guard house I found one of 
the most wretched and filthy holes imaginable ; the roof leaky, 
the boarded Hoors had been torn up and used for kindling 
wood by the prisoners confined in it, and all those who for 
weeks had been locked up there had accumulated a heap of 
filth, composed of the rejected food and offal of every kind, 
which sent forth an intolerable and unhealthy stench. I at 
once determined on the removal of the prisoners to better quar- 
ters, and on examining the dozen or more unfortunates, ordered 
four to the hospital, and recommended to tlie commandant 
of the post, who accompanied me, the discharge of four others. 
The remainder being deserters, confined under written charges 
preferred against them, who, at great trouble and expense, had 
been brought back from Boston, he had no authority or desire 
to liberate. To obtain a suitable building to use for a guard 
house was a matter of no small difficulty, there being but three 
others near the camp : one, the hospital, I had nearly full of 
patients; another, the post sutler's establishment, was too 
large, and was indispensable to the camp, as most of the officers' 
and all the hospital food was cooked in it. I found, however, 
a smaller wooden building which belonged to the former 
sutler of the Sickles Brigade and recommended the command 
ant of the post to take possession of it and make the necessary 
changes to adapt it for use as a guard house. 

"Having niade these arrangements, and having had the hospi- 
tal building repaired and heated with large stoves, and the bed- 
ding properly cared for, I was able to control the epidemic then 
raging ; and, before two weeks had expired, the sick report de- 
creased from one hundred and six to sixty-four. There was 
still another fruitful source of disorder and disease, which, 
though not in the camp, exercised a wonderful and pernicious 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 307 

influence on the men. On the roadside whicli led to the steam- 
boat landing, and within an eighth of a mile, there stood a 
frame cottage in which the vilest liquor was sold, and from 
whence it was daily smuggled into camp, causing drunkenness 
with all its attendant ill consequences, and sickness from ex- 
posure, as the men, on getting intoxicated, would I'amble off 
into the adjoining woods, and there lie down on the damp 
ground, certain to awake in the morning with a violent cold or 
the prevalent sore throat ; besides these ill effects the officers 
found this place a source of great annoyance, and I was not at 
all grieved on passing the place one day where this rum-mill had 
stood, to find it torn down. On inquiry, I learned that the 
evening previous a fight occurred between the keeper of the 
place and some of the soldiers, who, maddened with the vile 
stuff drank on the premises, proceeded to blows, and in the 
vielee which followed, the cottage was entirely gutted, and then 
levelled to the ground. Several of the men who participated 
in this affair were, I found, on my daily visit to the guard 
house, doing penance for it ; but, as a few days showed that the 
removal of the groggery was a blessing to the camp, they were 
let off with a lighter punishment than would otherwise have 
been their lot. [This groggery was familiarly known as "The 
Canteen."] 

''The isolated position of the camp was one of its strongest 
recommendations, and went far in influencing the selection, in 
spite of the soft, muddy nature of the ground, and the difficulty 
in guarding it against desertion by the men, and thieving by 
the Staten Islanders— a nest of whom from Rocky Hollow made 
nightly visits, and generally succeeded in carrying off some 
booty. One night it would be a government saddle ; another, a 
sack of oats, or even a horse ; the aggregate loss to the govern- 
ment, by these depredations, was considerable, nor could the 
utmost vigilance of the officers prevent it." 

Late in December, 1861, Camp Scott was vacated, and it was 
not again occupied until the Corcoran Legion occupied it in the 
summer of 1862. They remained until the early part of Novem- 
ber, and when they left, the following article was printed in a 
local paper, giving us a glimpse of the estimation in which they 
were held by the community in whose neighborhood they had 
been encamped. 

"The Corcoran Legion has departed, and who is sorry * Not 



308 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

the farmer whose hen roosts were robbed and whose fences were 
carried away for camp fires — not the peaceable citizen who 
fonnd his safest place to be within his own house after night- 
fall, nor his wife and daughters who were insulted in broad daj^ 
and jeered at with foulest language by tlie ruffian soldiery — not 
the public officers of the county whose writs were disobeyed 
and who dare not arrest a man of their number unless they run 
the risk of having daylight let through their unfortunate bodies 
by bayonet thrusts — not the city police who were paid for re- 
turning deserters by a volley of stones at their heads, and con- 
sidered themselves lucky in escaping with whole bones. We 
trust that the quiet of Camp Scott may never again be disturbed, 
and night made hideoiis by such a collection of barbarians as 
the Corcoran Legion for the most part were. There were good 
men among them, but they were rare. Should we relate all the 
well authenticated tales of horrible things connected with this 
camp from its organization to its breaking up we would scarce 
be believed. 

" Men have been kidnapped and taken to the camp and made 
to serve against their will — their calls for help wasted upon the 
wind, and the efforts of their friends for their release found to 
be useless. Young boys and others, many of them sickly and 
unfit for duty, have been seduced by the wiles of the recruiting 
officers from homes where they were tenderly reared and where 
affectionate parents, when they learned their loss, mourned 
their children as dead. Some rushed to the courts and judges 
for aid for relatives and friends, only to learn with dismay that 
even the ragged sentries who guarded the camjj were more pow- 
erful than the learned judge upon the bench, and that the 
colonels and captains defied the process of the courts and cursed 
all who interfered with military rule. 

" A gentleman informed us last week that he saw one of the 
officers strike an unoffending drummer boy in the face with his 
sword, cutting him through the cheek to the bone, and break- 
ing loose several teeth, so that the boy spit them out of his 
mouth with the blood! The boy was at a distance from an 
affray which was taking place, and neither spoke nor acted with 
regard to it, and the blow could only have been caused by the 
desire of the officer to vent his brutality upon some one, it mat- 
tered not whom." 

Camp Decker was the camping ground of the Second regi- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 309 

ment of Fire Zouaves in August, 1861; and of the Governor's 
Guard in September, 1861. At Tompkinsville were also en- 
camped the Second light artillery in December, 1861; and the 
Seventy-eighth regiment in March, 1862. At New Dorp the 
Thirteenth Brooklyn regiment was encamped in September, 
1861; the Stanton Legion, July to September, 1862; the One 
Hundred and Sixty-ninth N. Y., October, 1863; and the One 
Hundred and Fifty-ninth, November, 1862. 

Camj) Sprague was located at New Dorp. The following de- 
scription of it by a visitor in May, 1863, will be interesting to 
many: 

"It consists of a row of barracks upon three sides of an ex- 
tensive field, capable, it is said, of accommodating ten thousand 
men. On the fourth side it is protected by a high board fence, 
through which is the entrance to the camp. This fence is 
erected not so much to keep outsiders from going in as to pre- 
vent insiders from coming out; and though easily' scaled from 
the outside, presents an insurmountable barrier to the poor 
skedaddler within. After considerable parleying at the gate, 
and a severe sci'Utiny of our countenance, and the summoning 
of the officer of the guard, and the officer of the day, until we 
were thoroughly impi'essed with our utter insignificance, we 
were finally admitted, but having entered, we were at liberty 
to go whither the spirit moved us. 

" The camp is under the command of Colonel Lansing, but 
under the immediate charge of Lieutenant Colonel LcBve, a very 
plea.sant and gentlemanly officer, with considerable do7i hom- 
mie expressed in his countenance. His headquarters are very 
tastefully decorated in front with grass plats and flower beds, 
and pleasantly shaded by three or four pear trees in full 
bloom. 

"We next visited the hospital, which is under the charge of 
Dr. Ephraim Clark, of our island, who was recently appointed 
to the post by General Wool. We are informed that when the 
Doctor first took charge of the hospital, nothing could exceed 
the filthy and comfortless condition of the place— now It is a 
model of neatness and comfort, with a complete assortment of 
medical stores and surgical instruments. The ladies of the 
neighborhood, whose sympathies he has enlisted in behalf of 
the camp, have kindly presented the Doctor with jellies and 
domestic wines for the use of the sick. There are but few con- 



310 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

fined in the hospital at present. We noticed one poor fellow 
suffering from a pistol shot wound in the arm received some 
time since while insubordinate. He showed us the ball, which 
was completely flattened in its passage through the bone. 

"From the hospital we visited the gardens in front of the 
men's barracks, which we had heard highly spoken of. Thej' 
certainly exhibited a great deal of taste and skill, and would 
do credit to any landscape gardener. Here was a beautiful 
Union shield blooming in green sod and moss, with the word 
' Liberty ' engraven in evergreen upon it — there an Emerald 
Harp from the Emerald Isle, in a soft bed of white sand — and 
beside it a full spread eagle with a shield on his breast, and a 
streamer with the motto '■ E Pluribus Unuvi.' A little further 
on, a mortar of sod mounted on a little bank threatened hourly 
destruction to a little band of flowers who were endeavoring to 
scale the bank and take possession. Still further on, the en- 
gineers had erected beautiful models in sod of rifle pits and 
earthworks, like Lilliputian forts. There were many other 
pretty designs, and the lettering in all cases was particularly 
well done. In the center of this camp ground a large flag staff 
is about being erected, which will add greatly to the beauty of 
the camp. 

" There are about eleven hundred men at present in camp, 
although we believe the roll calls for over fourteen hundred. 
There are regiments and parts of regiments among them — the 
' Seymour Cavalry,' ' Les Enfants Perdus ' or ' Lost Children' 
(a French Regiment), and a corps of engineers. There are, we 
are informed, representatives from almost every European na- 
tion — English, Irish, French, Sjianish, Italian, German, Swede, 
Dane, Russian and even John Chinaman. It is quite a little 
Avorld in itself, and one is forcibly reminded in visiting it, of 
the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel. 

" The Rev. Dr. Irving, we understand, is laboring earnestly 
among them, and has already effected much good. Bibles and 
tracts in different languages have already been largely circu- 
lated among them." 

A serious riot took place at this camp on the 13th of May, 
1863, which resulted in the death of one soldier and the wound- 
ing of two others. Some of the troops quartered here had been 
in camp for several months without receiving any of the bounty 
money which was due them. This fact had given rise to great 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 311 

discontent on the part of those who had been thus slighted. 
Desertions from camp were taking place every night, so that 
the ranks were tilling up very slowly. On the morning of the 
day above referred to groups of men could be seen collecting in 
different pai"ts of the parade ground discussing with vehemence 
and indignation the subject of their complaint and declaiming 
bitterly against the deception which had been practiced upon 
them. In vain did several officers try to appease their wrath 
with the oft repeated story that their grievances would shortly 
be adjusted. They determined to take matters into their own 
hands, and leave the camp. 

Accordingly, about noon the Burnside Rifles armed them- 
selves with clubs, axes and stones, and headed by two drum- 
mers, marched defiantly toward the main entrance of the camp. 
Here, however, they were met bj^ Colonel Loeve, who had been 
informed of the threatened movement and had provided a 
strong guard of picked men for the emergency. Upon being 
ordered by the colonel to return to their quarters, the men set up a 
yell of defiance, one of them hurling a large stone which struck 
the colonel a violent blow on the side. As soon as he recovered 
from the shock he sprang into the midst of the mob and ar- 
rested the man who threw the stone; the others, being cowed by 
his resolute action, offered meanwhile no i-esistance. 

The mutineers now turned in another direction. Marching 
directly to the south side of the barracks they determined to 
cut their way out. and about twenty-eight men actually suc- 
ceeded in doing so before their progress could be stopped. The 
" Enfants Perdus" were marched to the scene of action and 
ordered to fire upon them, which they did, resulting in the 
death of one man and the supposed mortally wounding of an- 
other. The twenty-eight who had escaped were subsequently 
captured by a revenue cutter while attempting to cross over to 
Jersey in a boat which they had taken for the purpose. They 
were subsequently conveyed to Governor's island, where they 
were put in irons. 

In the course of the day a demonstration was made against 
the sutler's department, but was put down without much 
trouble. About ten o'clock in the evening flames were seen is- 
suing from the stables adjoining the hospital department. The 
energy of the officers and men succeeded in saving some valu- 
able horses that were in these buildings, and also, by great ex- 



312 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

ertions, the hospital itself, which was at one time seriously en- 
daugered. The patrol guard was strengthened, and this 
effectually prevented any making their escape amid the confu- 
sion consequent upon the fire. 

Squads of soldiers were detailed that afternoon to go to the 
different ferries and look out for any deserters who might at- 
tempt to leave the island by the ferry-boats. One of the guard 
at Stapleton landing, named Spellissy, while attending to this 
duty, attempted to arrest two young men whom he took to be 
deserters, but who claimed to have been honorably discharged 
from the service. In the scuffle which ensiled one Donahue, a 
by-stander, came to the assistance of the young men, and after 
a hand to hand encounter with Spellissy broke from him and 
lan away, when the latter fired upon him, the ball making a 
wound in the thigh of Donahue, and also striking the knee of 
a little child in its X'assage. Spellissy was arrested, and barely 
escaping being lynched at the hands of the incensed populace, 
was confined in Richmond jail. 

It would appear to be the fact that some grounds of complaint 
existed with the men, owing to their treatment and their fare. One 
who had inquired into the subject somewhat wrote: "All through 
the winter complaints have come to us from soldiers quar- 
tered at New Dorp and Tompkinsville that their bounties have 
been withheld ; and for a long time, at the latter camp ground, 
miserable fare has been loudly talked of, and on more than one 
occasion the men have demolished the cook-house where, they 
insisted, decayed food had been prepared for them. I have con- 
versed with a large number of these men, and discovered that 
they were not of the commoner sort, being very intelligent, and 
many of them sons of thrifty farmers in the northern and west- 
ern sections of this state ; consequently tliey know what decent 
treatment is, and felt that they had a right to expect it at the 
hands of the government or its officers. Hundreds of them 
have 'skedaddled' in disgust, and doubtless have borne to 
the ears of the community to which they belong, dismal tidings 
of the state of affairs in Uncle Samuel's camp, and pictured in 
their mental vision scenes to which tJiey are likely to remain 
strangers, at least as far as they are able." 

A small number of skeleton organizations, or parts of organi- 
zations, were brought together here and consolidated in June, 
1863. Among these remnants were the "'Tompkins,"' ''H. 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 313 

Seymour" and "Davis" cavalry, the "Blair Rifles," " Sey 
mour Light Infantry," "Defenders," " Burnside Rifles, "Pratt 
Guard," and the " Westchester Light Infantry." 

General McClellan was j) resent at a grand review which took 
place at this camp September 8, 1863. There were about three 
thousand five hundred men in the various commands then or- 
ganizing here, and the occasion called out about eight thousand 
spectators. The affair was said to be one of the most brilliant 
military demonstrations ever witnessed on the island. General 
McClellan having taken a position, the troops marched in re- 
view before him, the following regiments taking part and mov- 
ing in the order named : Eleventh N. Y., Thirty-first, Duryea's 
Zouaves, Thirty-fourth, Ninth, Twelfth cavalry. Coming's 
Eighteenth light cavalry. Twenty-first cavalry (dismounted), 
Seventeenth, Thirteenth and some other regiments. After the 
column had passed the general addressed the soldiers, many of 
whom had been in the service with liim, in the following lan- 
guage : 

" My CoiiRADES— I am glad and sad and proud to meet you 
again. (Loud cheers). I am glad because we are all glad to 
meet old comrades and brothers in arms. (Renewed cheering). 
lam sad because I am reminded in seeing you, of your brethren 
slain on our fields of battle. I remember, too, our last fight, 
opposite Warrentown. I am proud because I call to mind all 
our battles from Yorktown to Antietam. I am proud because 
you who are here are some of the old Array of the Potomac, on 
which I have looked with pride, and ever shall. (Tremendous 
cheering). When you return to your comrades say to them 
that their old commander has continued to watch their every 
battle with as much interest, feeling and pride as when with 
you, and that he will ever do so. (Cheers). I am also glad to 
know that so manj^ of you are returning to the service. I thank 
you, comrades, for the kind welcome you have given me. I will 
not say good-bye again. We have said that once before, and I 
trust never to repeat it." 

Early in November, 1863, four or five hundred men remaining, 
discontent arose and insubordination was manifest. This culmi- 
nated on the night of the 4th in the burning of the barracks. 
At about one o'clock of the following morning fire was dis- 
covered on the east side of the camp. The alarm was given by 
the firing of howitzers, and several apparatus companies came 



314 IIISTOKY OF RICHMONI) COUNTY. 

to the scene, Excelsior Bucket Company No. 1, Protection 
Hose, of Stapleton, and Neptune Hose, of Tompkinsville, being 
the first to arrive. The flames were extinguished, but not until 
all the eastern side and about one hundred feet of the northern 
side of the camp were destroyed. Unusual vigilance was exer- 
cised on the following night, but flames again appeared at about 
the same hour of the night, and before any available assistance 
could reach the spot the remaining part of the structure 
was burned to the ground. A few days later a jDlot was ex- 
posed by one of the men implicated in it, which had been 
planned for the purpose of burning the hospital which was 
filled with sick men. The man who exposed the plot had not 
the hardened heart to allow him to carry out the scheme of 
crime that he had engaged in, and he named the ringleaders, 
who were arrested and put in irons. On the following day 
General Canby ordered all the men except about forty cavalry 
to be removed to Governor's island. The camp was now de- 
serted except by the few men who remained to guard its 
ruins. 

When the encampments of soldiers were first made on the 
island considerable alarm was felt for the safety of the inhabi- 
tants and the security of their projierty against the molestation 
of the troops. A police force was talked of and steps toward a 
regular organization, to be employed and paid by the public funds, 
were taken. There wei'e dift'erences of opinion, some believing 
that such a force was necessary and others arguing that it 
would be a needless expense, and that the camp regulations 
would be sufficient to protect the people against any serious 
damage or molestation. A line of sentries was stationed by the 
commandant of Camp Scott as far as Vanderbilt landing, about 
two miles from the camp. 

Thus, as we have seen, now and heretofore in this article, the 
most vigilant effort was in many cases made to protect the 
people from the annoyances of the encamped army. But this 
could be but imperfectly done. The local and government 
authorities sometimes came into conflict, when soldiers who 
had been arrested and imprisoned for offenses against the civil 
law, were demanded by the officers of the military organizations 
to which they belonged to move with the organization to the 
seat of war. In this way many a guilty criminal escaped pun- 
ishment. This emboldened others to be more reckless in their 



HISTORY OF KICIIMOND COUNTY. 315 

offensive conduct, especially when it was known that their 
regiments were to move forward before a trial in the civil 
courts would be had. 

One of the frequent manifestations of lawlessness was seen in 
the work of the incendiary torch. The frequency of tires in 
18(52 is thus referred to in a paragraph in a local papei- at the 
time: 

" Fire Number 26. — Notwithstanding the general desire to 
efface party lines there is still a party on the North Shore 
which keeps up its organization and performs its labors with 
much diligence. We allude to the barnburners. These nota- 
ble individuals enjoyed themselves for the twenty-sixth time on 
Sunday morning, at half-past three o'clock (the usual hour for 
such fun), by setting tire to the barn of Mr. Henry Cornell on 
the Mill Road, Castleton. It was burned to the ground — loss 
about $300. The inhabitants all get awake in time to see the 
tire, but the incendiaries are generally supposed to be in- 
visible. 

" Many of the people are said to be so used to the alarm of 
fire that when they discover it is not their barn they go to bed 
again." 

Incendiary fires, burglaries, thefts, assaults, and drunken 
tights were of daily occurrence during much of the time. The 
expenses of the county for the services of constables and patrol- 
men for the year 1862 was eight thousand six hundred and 
forty-five dollars and twenty one cents. About two thousand 
six hundred arrests for criminal offenses were made during the 
year. The bills of the justices of the peace for acting on these 
cases amounted to five thousand two hundred and twenty-three 
dollars and seventy-one cents ; making an aggregate of thirteen 
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight dollars and ninety-two 
cents paid for preserving the public peace, which after all was 
continually in a precarious condition. 

The summer of 1865 was notable for the frequency of assaults, 
robberies and other examples of ruffianism. Many of the per- 
petrators of outrages of this character upon the peaceable 
citizens, which occurred almost daily, were returned soldiers, 
who had been schooled amid scenes of war, and being without 
any principle of honor, were ready to practice theft and violence 
upon unprotected citizens in a land of peace. The island was 
overcome by a tide of ruffianism and crime that rendered life 



316 HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

and property here decidedly unsafe. It was a publicly admitted 
fact that crime was enormously on the increase. Highway rob- 
beries, house breakings, violent assaults and batteries, riots and 
other heinous offenses, almost without number, were committed. 
Any attempt to give a detailed list of specific instances would 
be a sickening task. Many arrests were made and the guilty 
parties were imprisoned in the county jaiL But even here their 
bold defiance of law manifested itself in threats of using the 
political influence which some of them claimed to have to de- 
feat at the ballot box the public officials who should dare to 
bring them to j^unishment. Despite such threats, however, the 
grand jury at the next court of sessions, in September, found 
indictments against thirty-eight prisoners, nineteen of which 
were for assault and battery, four for burglary, two for assault 
with intent to kill, and the remainder for various crimes. 

But the period of war is closed. Let us be done with the 
lawlessness, the riots, the contentions, the destruction of prop- 
erty, the ill feelings, the excitements, the sorrowings and all 
the train of skeleton forms that attend on a time of war. And 
how mean a recompense is the blare of martial music, the 
graceful evolutions of military parade, the glitter of dazzling 
uniforms and equipments or the gallant carriage of a command- 
ing liero on the field ! Let us pray kind Heaven that this fair 
island may not again be desecrated by the presence of an en- 
camped soldiery preparing themselves for scenes of carnage and 
destruction. 

From the scenes in which men were engaged — the scenes in 
which their aim was to shed the blood of their fellow men, it is 
refreshing to turn a moment to the scenes in which honorable 
women were meanwhile engaged — the work of staying the crim- 
son tide, healing the wounds that men had made and relieving 
the sufferings that were the inevitable fruits of war. While 
the men were at work fanning the flames of passion to make 
them burn higher for the destruction of their fellows, the 
ladies were unobtrusively working away, preparing articles of use 
and comfort for the soldiers at the front or the sick and wound- 
ed in hospitals. Organizations were effected in the different 
villages, preparing articles of clothing, such as stockings, shirts, 
drawers, handkerchiefs, mittens, besides lint, bandages, blank- . 
ets, preserves, and other little delicacies and luxuries. There 
were the "Mariner's Harbor Soldiers' Relief Society," com- 



HISTOEY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 317 

posed largely of active young ladies, the "Ladies' Relief 
Society of New Springville," the ''North Shore Soldiers' Aid 
Society at Factoryville," and others whose names or work are 
not before us now, but which were equally noble, self-sacrificing 
and worthy of grateful remembrance. 

We will, in closing this chapter of war, apj)end the following 
list of Staten Islanders who served during tlie War of the 
Rebellion, in Company I, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth New 
York State Volunteers : 

Orville D. Jewett, Castleton, first lieutenant; captain; re- 
signed 1863. 

Clarence T. Barrett, Castleton, second lieutenant ; lirst lieu- 
tenant ; adjutant ; served as aid-de-camp on staff of Major- 
General W. H. Emory, commanding Nineteenth army corps; 
then on staff of Major-General E. S. Canbj', commanding de- 
partment of gulf; captain and aid-de-camp. United States 
army; brevet ted major for gallant and meritorious services at 
the capture of Mobile. 

Charles W. Kennedy, Castleton, first sergeant ; second lieu- 
tenant ; first lieutenant ; captain ; served for two years on staff 
of Third brigade. Second division. Nineteenth army corps, as 
brigade commissary, and acting assistant adjutant-general. 

Edward Steers, Castleton, sergeant ; first lieutenant ; served 
until the end of war. 

William Cortelyou, Southfield, sergeant; second lieutenant; 
. wounded at Cedar Creek ; served until the en-d of war. 

Bennett H. Buel, Castleton, sergeant ; served until the end 
of war. 

George G. Cadmus, Northlield, sergeant ; discharged for 
disability. 

Charles T. Pine, Castleton, corporal ; discharged to accept 
commission on corps d'Afrique. 

George Mersereau, Castleton, corporal ; sergeant ; served un- 
til the end of war. 

Edward Haggerty, Northfield, corporal ; killed before Port- 
Hudson. 

Nathan M. Barrett, Castleton, corporal color-guard ; served 
until the end of war. 

William C. Simonson, Southfield, corporal ; sergeant ; served 
until the end of war. 



318 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Oscar Guyon, Southfield, corporal ; sergeant ; served until 
the end of war. 

Albert P. Heal, Castleton, corporal ; served until the end of 
war. 

John Vanderbilt, Castleton, corporal ; discharged to accept 
appointment as master of arms United States navy. 

Thomas Steers, Castleton, corporal ; discharged to accept 
commission as assistant engineer United States navy. 

John G. Bott, Castleton, private ; served until the end of war. 

William Bamber, Castleton, private ; corporal ; served until 
the end of war, 

Robert Bell, Southfield, private ; died of disease in service. 

Henry V. Buel, Castleton, private ; died of disease in service. 

Edmund Blake, Castleton, private ; wounded at Winchester ; 
served until the end of war ; died from effects of wound. 

James Brogan, Castleton, private ; served until end of war. 

Nathan F. Barrett, Castleton, private; sergeant-major; sec- 
ond lieutenant; served until end of war. 

Abiel H. Burbank, Southfield, jn-ivate ; died of disease in 
service. 

Ebenezer Chichester, Castleton, private ; served till close of 
war. 

Daniel Collins, Castleton, private ; served till close of war. 

Dewitt C. Connoi", Southfield, private ; killed in action at 
Fort Bisland. 

Edward Clary, Castleton, private ; wounded at Cedar Creek ; 
served i^ntil end of war. 

Patrick Colbert, Castleton, private ; served until end of war. 

Thomas F. Donnelly, Castleton, private ; sergeant ; served 
until end of war. 

Richard Dawlin, Castleton, private; wounded at Fisher's 
Hill ; discharged. 

Albert G. Denton, Castleton, private ; discharged for disabil- 
ity. 

Daniel Elms, Northfield, private ; served until end of war. 

Jacob N. Guyon, Southfield, private ; corporal ; discharged 
for disability. 

.Nelson Gilby, Southfield, private; served until end of war. 

Joseph Jacobs, Castleton, private ; served until end of war. 

Bernard Jacobs, Castleton, private; drum-major; served un- 
til end of war; 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 319 

Albert Jones, Castleton, private ; died of disease in service. 

James E. Hood, Castleton, private; discharged for disability. 

Ira McVeigh, Castleton, private ; wounded at Cedar Creek ; 
discharged. 

Reuben S. Miller, Castleton, private ; served until end of war. 

Philip J. Miller, Soutliiield, private ; corporal ; served until 
end of war. 

Mark Mallett, Castleton, i^rivate; taken prisoner at Cedar 
Creek ; discharged. 

John Prosi, Castleton, private ; served until end of war. 

Edward N. Pomeroy, Castleton, private ; discharged to re- 
ceive commission in corps d'Afrique. 

Augustus W. Sexton, Jr., Castleton, private; discharged to 
receive commission. 

William B. Smith, Castleton, private ; served until end of 
war. 

Robert Stewart, Castleton, ijrivate ; served until end of war. 

George Wackerhagen, Castleton, private ; discharged to re- 
ceive appointment as hospital steward United States army. 

Thomas Wright, Castleton, private ; wounded at Montesino 
Bayou ; served until end of war. 

James Watson, Castleton, private ; taken prisoner at Cedar 
Creek ; died from exposure. 

The death of President Garfield occasioned one of the most 
remarkable and general jjopular demonstrations of sorrow that 
has ever been witnessed here. The newspapers of the island 
were dressed in mourning. Memorial services were held by 
nearly every church and organization on Monday, October 26, 
1881. In the north side villages a parade was organized. This 
was composed of Washington Engine Company No. 1, Port 
Richmond Engine Company No. 3, Lincoln Club of New 
Brighton; New Brighton Engine Company No. 4; Zephyr Hose 
Company No. 4; Aquehonga Hook and Ladder Company No. 1; 
Medora Hook and Ladder Company No. 3; Metamora Council 
No. 650, American Legion of Honor; Continental Council No. 27, 
O. U. A. M. The line of march was taken along the shore road 
from the Pavilion hotel at New Brighton to Port Richmond, 
where a speaker's stand had been erected in the open field on 
Heberton avenue opjjosite the school house. Here appropriate 
services were conducted, consisting of singing and addresses, 
the latter by Rev. Jesse S. Gilbert and Hon. Erastus Brooks. 



320 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Appropriate services were also held at the church of tlie 
Ascension, West New Brighton, at 11 o'clock. Rev. Mr. Cornell 
officiating in the absence of the rector. Services on the pre- 
vious Sunday at Trinity M. E. church had reference to the sub- 
ject, and similar services were held at the Moravian chui'ch at 
New Dorp. At the Reformed church memorial exercises were 
conducted on Monday at 2 o'clock by Rev. Dr. Brownlee, as- 
sisted by Rev. Dr. John Robinson and Rev. Mr. Vansant. The 
Rev. C. A. Princke at the German Lutheran church, St. John's, 
conducted memorial services in German at the same hour. High 
mass was celebrated at St. Mary's, Clifton, by the Rev. John 
Lewis and the Litany of the Saints, in which is included prayers 
for all people, governors, rulers and officials, was recited in re- 
spect to the occasion, on the same dayi 

An elaborate service was conducted at St. John's, Clifton, 
which included the prescribed service, music, and addresses by 
Rev. Dr. Eccleston, the pastor, and Mr. W. W. MacFarland; 
while at Christ church. New Brighton, the liturgical and musi- 
(ial services were supplemented by an address by Rev. George 
D. Johnson, the rector. At the Park Baptist church the pastor, 
being absent at the time, spoke with reference to the subject on 
the following Sabbath. At the Seamen's Retreat chapel ser- 
vices were held Monday afternoon and addresses were made by 
Rev. Drs. Kipp and Rockwell. At the Kingsley M. E. and St, 
Paul's Memorial churches, Edgewater, services were held on 
Monday, while on Sunday morning Rev. Dr. Rockwell, of the 
Presbyterian church, held a commemorative service. Masses 
were celebrated on Monday in St. Peter's, New Brighton, and 
St. Rose of Lima, West New Brighton; and in the latter 
church, after mass, prayer for the authorities, composed by 
Archbishop Cai'roll, of Baltimore, was recited. There were 
also services in St. Paul's M. E. and the South Baptist churches 
at Tottenville; in St. Joseph's at Rossville, and St. Mark's at 
Pleasant Plains. Rev. Mr. Cole, of Woodrow, delivered an 
essay on the life and service of President Garfield on the pre- 
ceding Sunday, and Rev. Mr. Morris, of Bethel M. E. church, 
gave a memorial sermon on the following Sabbath. 

Nearly all these churches were draped, some on the inside, 
some on the outside and some on both. Heavy folds and cov- 
erings of black cloth were tastefully arranged on pulpits, 
chairs, tables, organs, railings, around windows, over doorways 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 321 

and arches and upon supporting; pillars. Many residences, 
hotels and business places were also heavily dressed in mourn- 
ing, and in some cases bells were tolled at intervals through the 
day. Services at Stapleton Park were held under the auspices 
of Robert G. Shaw Post, G. A. R., and a large audience as- 
sembled, over which Mr. Justus O. Woods presided. Lenhart 
Post, of Tottenville, and the Staten Island Quartette Club, 
represented by thirty-five members, assisted in the exercises, 
and Ex-Congressman James W. Covert delivered an appropri- 
ate and touching address. 

Probably the most destructive storm ever known on the island 
was that of Sejitember, 1882. Rain commenced on Wednesday 
evening the 2(Jth, and continued until Saturday. Heavy rains 
fell during this time, and created freshets in many places, de- 
stroying property and rendering impossible the ordinary avenues 
of travel. The storm was accompanied by unusually high tides, 
which added to the aggregate damage along the shores. Wil- 
low brook was swelled to an alarming fullness. The culvert in 
the railroad embankment between Prince's bay and Pleasant 
Plains was not sufficient to give vent to the great body of water 
that accumulated above it, and on Saturday evening a breach 
was made and about thirty feet of the embankment was carried 
down the stream. The water by this time had risen so high as 
to cover many gardens and roads, and to fill many cellars, even 
covering the first floors in some houses. Out-houses and a 
nameless multitude of small articles were boi'ue away on the 
seething Hood. Blacksmith shops, barns and dwelling-houses 
were undermined or otherwise damaged, as were also their con- 
tents, by the water, and a number of bridges were lifted from 
their foundations or carried away. Nearly two weeks elapsed 
before a temporary track could be laid across the breach so as 
to allow the passing of trains. 

The railroad track was also badly damaged in several places 
in the vicinity of Richmond V^alley. At the station the track 
was bent and torn, and a short distance below another washout 
occurred, while a train which had reached this point found it- 
self between two impaired spots, so as to be unable to pass with 
safety either way, in which condition it remained till Sunday 
afternoon. Several bridges were destroyed in the vicinity of 
Rossville and Green Ridge, and deep cuts were made in the 
roads in many places, which made them for the time impassable. 

31 



322 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

AtTottenville the railroad track and turn-tables were submerged, 
a brick wall in the rear of John Nelson's hotel was thrown 
down, and sidewalks and streets were badly disfigured, cellars 
filled and property destroyed. Near Huguenot the South Side 
hotel was damaged to the extent of about two thousand dollars 
value, by the undermining of its foundations, caused by the 
outburst of Arbutus lake. In Stapleton the streets were flooded, 
as were a large number of houses. At New Brighton the streets 
were deluged, and many houses that were considered i)roof 
against any ordinary flood were fllled with water. 

The stone wall that protects the causeway over which the road 
crosses the meadow at Sailors' Snug Harbor gave way, and the 
road was flooded so that the platforms of passing horse cars 
were under water. 

At West New Brighton Broadwaj^ became a great river, its 
turbulent waters undermining a carpenter's shop belonging to 
David Pero, and another shop adjoining, cut out a great hole 
in the street near by, and flowed into the lower story of police 
station No. 2, to the depth of nine inches on the floor. The 
prisoners had to be transferred to the second story and the 
officers were obliged to sit up all night and watch them. The 
causewaj' between West New Brighton and Port Richmond was 
covered by two feet of water, and the torrent, as it swept over, 
took with it a cow, two pigs and a great quantity of miscellane- 
ous property. In this part of the island the story of demol- 
ished bridges, inundated floors and uptorn sidewalks and 
streets were on every hand too frequent to be particularized. 

A very appropriate and commendable demonstration was 
made by the people of this county on the anniversary of the 
second centennial of the organization of the county of Rich- 
mond. The credit of being the first to suggest such a demon- 
stration here is given to Mr. Robert Moore, then supervisor of 
Castleton. In accordance with that suggestion the board of 
supervisors called a meeting of citizens to cooperate with them 
in perfecting plans for such a celebration. 

The first meeting of citizens was held September 22d, 1883, 
at which Hon. Erastus Brooks was chosen president; Hon. 
George William Curtis, Louis De Jonge, Erastus Wiman and 
Dr. Ephraim Clark, vice-presidents; George H. Daley, record- 
ing secretary, and Charles Arthur Hollick, corresponding sec- 
retary. 



HISTOKY OF EICHMOND COUNTY. 323 

At this meeting tlie subject was fully discussed, and the su- 
pervisors were authorized to appoint a committee of four 
citizens from each town, in conjunction witli themselves, to act as 
a committee of arrangements. This committee was afterward in- 
creased to nine from each town, which, together with the super- 
visors, was to be known as the citizens' committee of fifty. 
At this meeting, on motion of Dr. Ephraim Clarke, Hon. Eras- 
tus Brooks was unanimously chosen to prepare and deliver an 
historical address. At a subsequent meeting of this committee, 
Professor Anton G. Methfessel was chosen chairman, and Theo- 
dore C. Vermilye, secretary. 

A sub-committee of four from each town, in conjunction with 
the supervisors, was appointed by the chairman, to be known 
as the executive committee, and to them was referred the whole 
subject of preparing a plan for the celebration. The executive 
committee organized, with Frederick ^Vhite as chairman and 
Duncan R. Norvell as secretary, and after considerable discus- 
sion, a parade was decided upon, and full particulars reported 
to the committee of fifty. 

The executive committee was composed of the following men: 
George Bechtel, Frederick White, Philip Wolff, A. G. Meth- 
fessel, Nathaniel Marsh, Benjamin Brown, C. A. Hart, D. J. 
Tysen, Abram Crocheron, DeWitt Stafford, Robert Moore, D. 
R. Norvell, R. B. Whittemore, Read Benedict, Jesse Oakley, 
B. H. Warford, M. Conklin, P. G. Ullman, J. H. Van Clief, 
sr., William Ricard; Fredei-ick White, chairman; Duncan R. 
Norvell, secretary. 

Arrangements having been perfected, in accordance therewith 
the procession formed at Elm Park at 12 o'clock at noon on the 
1st of November, 1883. The procession was made up of the 
following organizations in the order named: mounted police, 
Kickapoo Indians in a wagon. Fort Hamilton band, marshals, 
Staten Island Schutzen Corps, chariot containing "Goddess of 
Liberty," Tottenville Cornet Band and Drum Cordis, Battalion 
Grand Army of the Republic, Shaw Post, Lenhart Post, fifty 
sons of veterans, disabled veterans on a truck, citizens' associ- 
ation, carriages containing speakers, county officials, Staten Is- 
land Quartette Club and citizens,Citizens' Cornet Band of South 
Amboy, Red Cross Division of Knights of Pythias of South 
Amboy, Protection Hook and Ladder Company of Perth 
Amboy, Lincoln Hose Company of Perth Amboy, Totten- 



324 HISTORY OF KICIIMOND COUNTY. 

ville Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, Kreischer- 
ville Drum Corps, one hundred and forty emjiloyees of B. 
Kreischer & Sons, New Dorp Pioneer Corps, Mulligan's Band 
of New York, one hundred men of One Hundred and Thirteenth 
regiment, Washington Band, Enterprise Hook and Ladder Com- 
pany No. 1 of Stapleton, Neptune Engine Company No. 6, 
Protection Engine Company No. 7, Sixty-ninth Regiment Drum 
Corps, Excelsior Bucket Company No. 1, Relief Bucket Com- 
pany, Engine Company No. 8 of Clifton, Columbia Cornet 
Band of Pleasant Plains, Clifton Hose Company No. 6, Excel- 
sior Drum Corps of Tompkinsville, Ben. Brown Hose No. 3, 
Eterick's Band of Brooklyn, Engine Company No. 9, Robinson 
Hose No. 9, Forty-seventh Regiment Drum Corps, Neptune 
Engine Company No. 1 of West Hoboken, Lincoln Club Band, 
Niagara Engine No. 5, Neptune Hose No. 1, Olvany's Band, 
Columbia Hook and Ladder, South Amboy Band, Continental 
Council No. 27, Order United American Mechanics, the Z. Z. Z. 
Z. Social Club, Newark Cornet Band, Colored Citizens' Associa- 
tion of Newark, Twelfth Regiment Band, Washington Engine 
No. 4 of Port Richmond, Osceola Cornet Band of Mariners' 
Harbor, Aquehonga Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, West 
Brighton Band, Cataract Engine Company No. 2 of West 
Brighton, Union Base-ball Clubs of Young Men's Christian 
Union of West Brighton, Elizabeth Cornet Band, Granite Hook 
and Ladder Company No. 2, Port Richmond Engine Comjxmy 
No. 3, Medora Hook and Ladder Company No. 3 of West 
Brighton, Joyce's Band of New York, New Brighton Engine 
Company No. 4, Friendship Hook and Ladder Company No. 
-1, Oceanic Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 of Travisville, 
Linoleum Social Club, In-Seine Club and sixty-seven vehicles 
representing trades, business, characters and fancies, among 
which were several four-horse turnouts, and one wagon drawn 
liy ten horses. A large number of i^rivate wagons followed to 
bring up the rear. The procession started at 12 o'clock, and 
proceded by the Shore road to Finger Board road and then re- 
turned to Stapleton Flats, where a large tent had been erected, 
in which addresses were made and music was given. Invitations 
l\ad been given to the president, governor, mayors of New York 
:;nd Brooklyn and Greneral Hancock to participate in the ceremo- 
nies, none of whom however found it practicable to attend. 
By the favor of the secretary of the navy, obtained through 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 325 

Hon. Perry Belmont, the United States ship "Vandalia," an- 
chored off Stapleton, where she lay during the day, being deco- 
rated with flags and tired a salute of twenty-one guns at noon. 
For the public exercises of the occasion a large tent had been 
erected on a portion of Stapleton Flats. The interior was taste- 
fully trimmed with United States flags. At the conclusion of 
the parade the meeting in the tent was called to order by the 
secretary, Theodore C. Vermilye. Prayer was offered by the 
Rev. Dr. Brownlee. Dr. Ephraim Clark was made chairman 
of the meeting, and addresses were delivered by Hon. Erastus 
Brooks, Hon. Perry Belmont, Hon. George William Curtis, 
Hon. A. S. Sullivan, Hon. Henry J. Scudder and Hon. Brad- 
ford L. Prince, the exercises closing with prayer by the Rev. 
Mr. Palmer of Tottenville. In the evening a grand display of 
flreworks was made at Stapleton, and thus closed the day cele- 
brated to mark the completion of two centuries of the exist- 
ence of Richmond county. 



CHAPTER VII. 

CIVIL DIVISIONS AND CIVIL OFFICERS. 

The County.— The To-n-ns.— The Villages.— Hon. Daniel D. Tompkins.— Hon. 
Erastus Brooks. — Cornelius A. Hart. 

WE have already seen in a previous chapter that the county 
of Richmond was erected by an act of the colonial legis- 
lature, " to divide this province and dependencies into Shires 
and Counties," which was passed November 1, 1688. The act 
specified — "The county of Richmond to conteyne all Staten 
Island, Shutter's Island, and the islands of meadow on the 
west side thereof." 

Under this organization it remained till the colonial govern- 
ment was supplanted by that of the state, when, by the act of 
the state legislature passed March 7, 1788, for dividing the 
state into counties, the previous organization was confirmed in 
the following language, which differs from that in the former 
act only in orthography: — "The County of Richmond to con- 
tain all Staten- Island, Shooter'' s- Island and the Islands of 
Meadow on the West Side thereof." 

The act of March 7, 1788, dividing the counties of this state 
into towns, gives the division of Richmond as follows: 

"xlnd all that Part of the County oi Richmond, bounded 
northerly by Kill-Van-Cull, easterly by Hudson' s- River, south- 
erly by the Road leading from Van Buer soil's Ferry south- 
ward of the Watering -Place to Richmond-Toion, and westerly 
by a Lyne beginning at the Mouth of Dongan' s Mill-creek, 
and running from thence along the Line of the Manor of 
Castle-Town to the Road at the Rear of the Patent of Corsen 
and Company, thence along the northerly Side of the said 
Road westerly to the Road leading to Haughwouf s Mill, and 
then southerly along the westerly Side of the last mentioned 
Road as it runs along by Richard Conner's, to the Tavern 
called the Rose and Crown, on the said Road leading to Rich- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 327 

mond-Town, shall be and hereby is erected into a Town by the 
Name of Castle-Town. 

"And that all that Part of the said County of Richmond, 
bounded northerly by the North Side of said Road leading 
from Van Duer son's Ferry to Bichmond-'Yo\wi\ and the Fresh- 
^/W, easterly b}^ //w(r7so;i'.9-i?/«e/, southerly by the Bay, and 
westerly by a Line beginning on the Fresh-Kill at the North- 
west Corner of the Land and Meadow late of James Egberts, 
and running from thence southerly along the same to Egberts' 
Lane, and then along the same Lane to the Road called the 
New Road and then along the same New Road westerly to the 
Land of Henry Ferine, and then southerly along his easterly 
Bounds to the Bay shall be, and hereby is erected into a Town 
by the Name of South-fleld. 

"And that all that Part of the said County of Richmond, 
bounded northerly by the Fresh-Kill, easterly by Southtield, 
southerly by the Bay, and westerly by the Sound, shall be, 
and herebj^ is erected into a Town by the Name of Westfield. 

" And that all the Residue of the said County of liichmond, 
shall be, and hereby is erected into a Town by the Name of 
Northfleldr 

The following men from this county have been members of 
important state and national representative bodies as indi- 
cated: 

Members of the Provincial Congress: — Adrian Bancker, 2d 
Prov. Cong., 1775-76 ; Richard Conner, 1st and 3d Prov. 
Cong., 1775-76 ; Aaron Cortelyou, 1st and 3d Prov. Cong., 1775 
-76 ; John Journeay, 1st and 3d Prov. Cong., 1775-76 ; Richard 
Lawrence, 1st and 2d Prov. Cong., 1775-76 ; Paul Micheau, 1st 
and 3d Prov. Cong., 1775-76. 

Representatives in Congress: — Daniel D. Tompkins, 9tli 
Congress, 1805-06 ; Henry Crocheron, 14tli Congress, 1815-17 ; 
James Guyon, Jr., 16th Congress, 1819-21 ; Jacob Crocheron, 
21st Congress, 1829-31 ; Samuel Barton, 24th Congress, 1833-37; 
Joseph Egbert, 27th Congress, 1841-43 ; Henry I. Seaman, 29tli 
Congress, 1843-47; Obadiah Bowne, 32d Congress, ]851-53 ; 
Henry G. Stebbins, 38th Congress, resigned ; Dwight Townsend, 
38th Congress, 1863-65 ; Henry B. Metcalfe, 44th Congress, 1875 
-77. 

Presidential Electors .-—1808, John Garretson ; 1812, Joseph 
Perine ; 1836, Jacob Crocheron ; 1840, John T. Harrison ; 1844, 



328 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

John C. Thompson ; 1848, James M. Cross ; 1856, Minthorne 
Tompkins ; 1864, Obadiah Bowne. 

State Senators : — Paul Mirheau, 1789-92 ; Jacob Tysen, 
1828 ; Harman B. Cropsey, 1832-35 ; Minthorne Tompkins, 
1840-41 ; James E. Cooley, 1852-53; Robert Christie, Jr., 
1864-65 ; Nicholas La Ban, 1866 67 ; Samuel H. Frost, 1870-71. 

Memhers of the State Constitutional Conventions : — Conven- 
tion of 1788, Abraham Bancker, Gozen Ryerss ; 1801, Joseph 
Ferine ; 1821, Daniel D. Tompkins ; 1845, John T. Harrison ; 
1868, George Wm. Curtis. 

Regents of the University : — Abraham Bancker, John C. 
Dongan, first board. 1784 ; Harmanus Garrison, second board, 
1784 ; after which time the county was not represented in the 
board until April 12th, 1864, when George Wm. Curtis was ap- 
pointed, and still continues in office (1886). 

The following men have served the county in the offices 
specified during the years indicated : 

Judges of the County Courts : — 1691, Ellis Duxbury ; 1710, 
Daniel Lake; 1711, Joseph Billop; 1712, Thomas Farmar; 1739, 
Richard Merrill ; 1739, John Le Conte ; 1756, William Walton 
(He was also a member of the council from 1758 to 1768, when 
he died) ; 1761, Joseph Bedell ; 1775, Benjamin Seaman ; 1786, 
Paul Micheau ; 1797, Gozen Ryerss ; 1802, John J. Murray ; 
1803, John Garretson ; 1823, Jacob Tysen; 1840, Henry B. Met- 
calfe ; 1841, William Emerson ; 1844, Albert Ward ; 1847, Hen- 
ry B. Metcalfe; 1876, Tompkins Westervelt ; 1882, Stephen D. 
Stephens, Jr. 

District Attorneys'^ .•—1818, George Metcalfe; 1826, Henry B. 
Metcalfe ; 1833, Thorn S. Kingsland; 1839, George Catlin; 1840, 
Roderick N. Morrison ; 1841, Lot C. Clark ; 1849, George Cat- 
lin ; 1850, George White ; 1853, Alfred DeGroot ; 1860, Abra- 
ham W. Winant ; 1865, John H. Hedley : 1872, Sidney F. 
Rawson ; 1875, John Croak ; 1881, John Gallagher. 

Surrogates, under Colonial Government : 1733, Walter Don- 
gan ; 1759, Benjamin Seaman. 

Under Federal Gomrnment .•—1787, Adrian Bancker ; 1792, 
Abraham Bancker ; 1809, John Housman ; ]810, Cornelius Be- 
dell ; 1811, Jonathan Lewis ; 1813, Cornelius Bedell ; 1815, Tu- 
nis Egbert ; 1820, Richard Conner ; 1820, John Garrison ; 1821, 
Tunis Egbert ; 1830, Richard Crocheron ; 1843, Lewis R. Marsh; 

*Thi8 was made a county office in 1818. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 329 

1847, Henrj^ B. Metcalfe ; 1876, Tompkins Westervelt ; 1882, 
Stephen D. Stephens, Jr. 

County Clerks:— IQS2, Francis Williamson; 1684, Samuel 
Winder; 1689, Jacob Corbet; 1691, Thomas Carhart; 1698, Thomas 
Coen; 1706, William Tillyer; 1708, Alexander Stuart; 1728, 
Adam Mott; 1738, Daniel Stilvvell; 1739, Daniel Corsen; 1761, 
Paul Micheau- 1781, Abraham Bancker; 1784, John Mersereau; 

1798, Joseph Ferine; 1810, John V. D. Jacobsen; 1811, Joseph 
Ferine; 181f), Jonathan Lewis; 1828, Walter Betts; 1843, Joshua 
Mersereau, Jr. ; 1852, Israel C. Denyse; 1855, James Cubberly; 
1858, Israel C. Denyse; 1861, Abraham V. Connor; 1864, Michael 

F. O'Brien; , Joseph Egbert; 1869, John H. Van Clief, Jr.; 

1873, David H. Cortelyou; 1876, Abraham V. Conner; 1879, Cor- 
nelius A. Hart. 

School Superintendents, e^c..'— Harman B. Cropsey, county 
superintendent, appointed 1843. David A. Edgar, Henry M. 
Boehm, Isaac Lea, James Brownlee, county commissioners, 
elected. 

Sheriffs:— ims, John Falmer; 1684, Thomas Lovelace; 1685, 
Thomas Stilwell; 1689, EliCrossen; 1691, Thomas Stilvvell; 1692, 
John Stilwell; 1698, John De Fue; 1699, Jacob Coulsen; 1700, 
Christian Corsen; 1701, John De Fue; 1702, Lambert Gfarrison; 
1709, William Tillyer; 1722, Benjamin Bill; 1730, Charles Garri- 
son; 1736, Faul Micheau; 1739, Nicholas Larzalere; 1751, John 
Hillyer; 1775, Thomas Frost; 1784, Abraham Bancker; 1788, 
Lewis Ryerss; 1792, Benjamin Barker; 1796, Isaac Cubberly; 

1799, John Hillyer; 1802, Jacob Crocheron; 1806, Jonathan Lewis; 
1810, Daniel Guyon; 1811, Jacob Crocheron; 1813, Jacob Hillyer; 
1815, Henry Ferine; 1819, John Hillyer; 1821, Jacob Crocheron; 
1825, Walter Betts; 1828, Harman B. Cropsey; 1831, Lawrence 
Hillyer; 1834, Israel Oakley; 1837, Andrew B. Decker; 1840, 
Jacob Simonson; 1843, Israel O. Dissosway; 1846, Jacob G. 
Guyon; 1849, Israel O. Dissosway; 1852, Abraham Ellis; 1855, 
Abraham Lockman; 1858, Isaac M. Marsh; 1861, Moses Alston; 
1864, Abraham Winant; 1867, Jacob G. Winant; 1870, Moses 
Alston; 1673, William C. Denyse; 1876, Benjamin Brown; 1880, 
Abraham V. Conner; 1883, Benjamin Brown; 1886, John J. 
Vaughn, Jr. 

Members of the Colonial Assembly : — John Dally, 1691; Lam- 
bert Dorland, 1691 ; Ellis Duxbury, 1691-95-98 ; Thomas Mor- 
gan, 1692-98-1702 ; J. T. Van Felt, 1692-97-98 ; John Shadwell, 



330 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

1693-95 ; Thomas Stilwell, 1693-98 ; John Tunison, 1694-95-98 ; 
John Woglom, 1698-99 ; Garret Veghte, 1699, 1702 ; John Stil- 
well, 1702,-25 ; Abraham Lakerman, 1702-26 ; Richard Merrill, 
1725-37 : John Le Count, 1726-56 ; Adam Mott, 1737-39 ; Richard 
Stilwell, 1739-48; Paul Micheau, 1748-51; William T. Walton, 
1751-61; Benjamin Seaman, 1756-75; Henry Holland, 1761-69; 
Christopher Billop, 1769-75. 

Members of Assenibly for Rlclimond County, under the State 
Government : — Abraham Jones, 1777-78; Joshua Mersereau, 
1777-78; no name recorded, 1778-79, Joshua Mersereau, 1779- 
80, 1780-81, 1781-82, 1782-83; Adrian Bancker, 1784; Johannes 
Van Wagenen, 1784; Joshua Mersereau, 1784-85; Cornelius 
Corsen, 1784-85; Joshua Mersereau, 1786; John Dongan, 1786; 
John C. Dongan, 1787; Thomas Frost, 1787; John C. Dongan, 
1788; Peter Winant, 1788; Abraham Bancker, 1788-89; John 
C. Dongan, 1788-89 ; Abraham Bancker, 1789-90 ; Peter 
Winant, 1789-90; Peter Winant, 1791; Gozen Ryerss, 1791, 
1792, 1793, 1794; Lewis Ryerss, 179.5, 1796, 1797; Paul J. 
Micheau, 1798, 1799; John P. Ryerss, 1800; Paul J. Micheau, 
1800-01, 1802, 1803; John Housman. 1804; John Dunn, 1804-05, 
1806; David Mersereau, 1807, 1608, 1808-09; Richard Conner, 
1810; James Guyon, 1811, 1812; James Guyon. Jr., 1812-13, 
1814; Jesse Oakley, 1814-15; Richard Corsen"i 1816; Richard C. 
Corsen, 1816-17, 1818; Harmanus Guyon, 1819, 1820; Samuel 
Barton, 1820-21, 1822; Isaac R. Housman, 1823; Henry Ferine, 
1824; Harmanus Garrison, 1825; no election, 1826; Aljraham 
Cole, 1827, 1828; John Vanderbilt, 1829: John T. Harrison, 
1830, 1831; Jacob Mersereau, 1832, 1833; Paul Mersereau, 1834; 
Lawrence Hillyer, 1835; John Garrison, Jr., 1836; Lawrence 
Hillyer, 1837; Israel Oakley, 1838, 1839; Bornt P. Winant. 
1840; Israel Oakley, 1841; Henry Cole, 1842, 1843; William 
JSTickles, 1844; Peter Mersereau, 1845; George H. Cole, 1846, 
1847; Ephraim J. Totten, 1848; Gabriel P. Disosway, 1849; 
Benjamin P. Frail, 18.50; William H. Anthon, 1851; Lawrence 
H. Cortelyon, 1852 ; Henry De Hart, 1853; Nicholas Crocheron, 
1854; John F. Raymond, 1855; William J. Shea, 1856; Joshua 
Mersereau, 1857; Eben W. Hubbard, 1858; Robert Christie, Jr., 
1859; Theodore C. Vermilye, 1860; N. Dane EUingwood, 1861; 
Smith Ely, 1862; Theodore Frean, 1863; William H. Rutan, 
1864; James Ridgway, 1865; Thomas Child, 1866; Nathaniel J. 
Wyeth, 1867; John Decker, 1868-71; David W. Judd, 1872; 



HISTORY OF UICH3I0ND COUNTY. 331 

John B. Hillyer, 1873; Stephen D. Stephens, Jr., 1874-75; 
Kneeland Townsend, 1876; Samuel R. Brick, 1877; Erastus 
Brooks, 1878, 1879, 1881, 1882, 1883; Oliver Fiske, 1880; Ed- 
ward A. Moore, 1884; Michael S. Tynan, 1885; Edward P. 
Doyle, 1886; Edward A. Moore, 1887. 

Supervisors of the several towns in Richmond county since 
the beginning of the year 1706, alphabetically arranged: 

Castleto7i:— Barnes, George, 1792-93; Barrett, Nathan, 1837- 
38; Burbanck, Abraham, 1794-98; Gary, Richard S., 1804; 
Christopher, Richard, 1846, 1849, 1857-8-9, 1868-9, 1874-5-6; 
Clute, John J., 1860; Conner, Richard, 1766 84, 1786-92; Crab- 
tree, James H., 1865; Crocheron, Abraham, 1832-3; Davis, 
George B., 1853; De Groot, Jacob, 1839; Dongan, John C, 1785; 
Ely, Smith, 1861-2; Esterbrook, Joseph, 1866; Gardiner, David 
L., 1864; Garrison, John, 1803; Garrison, John, Jr., 1834 5-6; 
Hazard, Robert M, 1847-8; Heal, Nathan M., 1867; Herpeck, 
Charles A., 1877; Housman, John, 1799 to 1802, 1810; Hous- 
man, Isaac R., 1822-31; Laforge, Peter D., 1841-2; Martling, 
Joseph B. H., 1850-52; Martino, Gabriel, 1855; Mersereau, 
Joshua, 1854; Minturn, Robert B., 1871; Pell, D. Archie, 1870; 
Thompson, John C, 1840; Tysen, Jacob, 1811-21; Tysen, John, 
Jr., 1805-09; Vermeule, John D., 1872-3: Vreeland, Eder, 1844- 
5; Ward, Albert, 1843. 

]Vort7ifleld:—BedeU, Cornelius, 1790, 1794; Burger, James G., 
1855; Child, Thomas, 1863; Corsen, Cornelius, 1779-84; Croch- 
eron, Henry, 1800-04, 1808-14; Crocheron, Nicholas, 1805-7, 
1825-30, 1846 7; Crocheron, Richard, 1816 23; Denyse, Israel C, 
1866-7; Hillyer, John, 1767; Hillyer, John B., 1872; Hillyer, 
John, Jr., 1772-3; Hillyer, Lawrence, 1851, 1856; Laforge, Peter 
C, 1862; Lake, Daniel, 1795 97; Latourette, Henry, 1767; La- 
tourette, Richard, 1876-77; Martin, Oliver R., 1848; Mersereau, 
David, 1815; Mersereau, Jacob, 1792-3, 1799; Mersereau, John, 
1788; Mersereau, Peter, 1841-44; Moore, Richard C.,1854; Perine, 
James, 1831-32; Post, Garret G., 1850, 1857 61; Prall, William, 
1824; Ryerss, Gozen, 1785-87; Simonson, Bornt, 1774-78; Si- 
monson. Garret, 1873-76; Simonson, Jacob, 1833 40, 1849; Tysen, 
John, 1789, 1791, 1798; Wright, Garret P., 1852; Van Clief, 
John H., 1808-71; Van Name, Charles, 1853,1864; Van Name, 
Michael, 1845. 

SoidJifiekl:— Barnes, George, 1789, 1800; Barton, Edward P., 
1869; Barton, Samuel, 1852, 1857; Brady, Philip, 1870; Britton, 



332 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Alexander H., 1844; Clark, Ephraim, 1866-67; Cocroft, James, 
1865; Coddington, Samuel, 1841-43, 1857; Cole, George H., 1845; 
Corry, William, 1876, 1877; Cortelyou, Peter, 1789 98; Egbert, 
Joseph, 1855-56; Fountain, Anthony, 1767, 1769, 1784; Gar- 
rison, John C, 1849, 1858-60; Greenfield, George J., 1872 to — ; 
Guyon, Harmanus, 1816-20, 1822-33; Guyon, James, 1782-3, 1785- 
6; Guyon, James, 1838-40, 1847-8, 1850-51; Hall, Farnham, 1846; 
Jacobson, Christian, 1772-81; Jacobson, John Y. D., 1802-15; 
Johnson, Anthony, 1834-36; Keeley, Dennis, 1861-64, 1871; 
Ketteltas, J. S., 1868; Mersereau, Jacob W., 1853-4; Ferine, 
Henry, 1821; Poillon, John, 1766, 1768; Tysen, John, 1795-98. 

Weslfield .■—Band^er, Adrian, 1772-73; Cole, Cornelius, 1788, 
1794; Cole, Gilbert A., 1857, 1862; Cropsey, Jacob R. 1844-45; 
Depuy, Nicholas, 1766 to 1769; Eddy, Andrew, 1846; Ellis, 
George W., 1870-71; Frost, Samuel H., 1851 to 1856; Guyon, 
Jacob, M., 1876; Jackson, Richard, 1828; Larzelere, Benjamin, 
1789, 1795 to 1801; Latourette, David, 1835-36; Merserean, 
Daniel, 1829-33; Micheau, Paul, 1790-93; Oakley, Israel, 1840; 
Oakley, Jesse, 1850; Ferine, Henry, 1774-83; Rutan, William 
H., 1858-61; Seguine, Henry H., 1874, 1877; Seguine, Joseph, 
1826, 1837-39; Tstten, Ephraim J., 1847, 1849; Totten, Gilbert, 
1802-25, 1827; Totten, John, 1784, 1809-25, 1827; Winant, Peter, 
1785-87; Winant, Bornt P., 1834, 1841-43, 1848; Wood, Abraham 
H., 1864-65; Wood, Abraham J., 1866 69, 1872-73. 

Mkldletown: — Armstrong, John E., 1873; Bechtel, John, 1864; 
Bradley, Alvin C, 1872; Brick, Samuel R., 1868-71; Davis, 
George B., 1861; Frean, Theodore, 1866, 1877; Frost, Henry, 
1876; Hornby, Alexander, 1862; Lord, D. Porter, 1865, 1867; 
White, Frederick, 1874; Wood, Jacob B., 1860. 

N. B. — There is no record of supervisors' names eaiiier than 
1766, except in a few instances noticed below. The names of 
the supervisors of 1770 and 1771 are not recorded. It is pos- 
sible that the names of some of the earliest supervisors are 
arranged under the wrong town, as in no case are the names of 
the towns and supervisors connected. 

Supervisors prior to 1766 : — 1699 — William Tiljeu, North; 
Anthony Tyson, West; Abm. Lakeman, South. 1703 — Richard 
Merrill, North; Stoffel Garrison, South; Anthony Tysen, West. 

1704 Merrill, North; Tunis Egbert, West. 1705— Aron 

Prall, North; Tunis Egbert, West; Stoflfel Van Sant, South. 
1706— Tunis Egbert, West; Aaron Prall, North. 1709 -Alex- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 333 

ander Stuart, South; Jacob Corsen. North; Tunis Egbert, 
West. 

The earliest record of a town election in Castleton now to be 
found is that dated 1781. At that election the following officers 
were chosen: Richard Conner, supervisor; Peter Housman, 
clerk; James Lisk, constable and collector; Peter Housman 
and George Barnes, assessors; Peter Housman and Daniel 
Corsen, commissioners of roads, and other officers. 

The following list, dated December 22, 1783, in Castleton, 
contains the " Names of the persons that swore to the State of 
New York." Hendrick Garrison, John Wandel, John C. 
Dongan, John Dorsett, Matthew Decker, Tunis Egberts, Na- 
thaniel Britten, Abraham Egberts, Joseph Barton, Daniel 
Corsen, Joseph Christopher, Abraham Housman, Matthias 
Smith, John Housman, Thomas Kingston, Edward Blake, 
Samuel Van Pelt, James Johnston, John Lisk, John Bodine, 
Nicholas Bush, William Van Pelt, Edward Egberts and 
George Barns. 

The town of Middletown was erected by an act of the state leg- 
islature passed April 16th, 1860. It was formed from parts of 
Southiield and Castleton, the new town being bounded by a line 
"commencing on the bay or shoi'e on the east side of Staten 
Island at the point where the Richmond turnpike strikes said 
bay; thence running westerly along said Richmond turnpike 
road to the town of Northfield; thence southerly on the line 
between the towns of Northfield and Castleton to where said 
line terminates at Southfield; thence northeasterly on the line 
between Castleton and Southfield, along the Richmond plank- 
road to Vanderbilt avenue; thence easterly along the south- 
erly side of said Vanderbilt avenue to the bay of New York; 
thence northerly along the shore or bay of New York to the 
point of beginning." These bounds included the eastern por- 
tion of Southfield and the southerly portion of Castleton. The 
first town meeting of the new town was held at Nautilus hall, 
on the second day of May following, and the act appointed 
Thomas Standerwick, Thomas Garrett and Cary Deverj^ to pre- 
side at that meeting. 

The village of Edgewater, comprising part of Tompkinsville, 
and all of Stapleton and Clifton, was originally incorporated in 
1860, being then divided into nine wards, but some legal defect 
having been detected, a new charter was obtained the following 



334 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

year. The names of the first trustees, under the new charter, 
and the wards they represented were as follows : William C_ 
Denyse, 1st ; David Biugher, 2d ; George Bechtel, 3d ; Theo- 
dore Frean, 4th; Dr. Thomas C. Moffat, /5th; James R. Robinson, 
6th ; Alfred Wandell, 7th; Dennis Keeley. 8th: J. Duigan, 9th. 
The officers then were : Theodore Frean, president ; Henry F. 
Standerwick, clerk ; Thomas Garrett, police justice. 

The experiment of village government was not as successful 
as might be desired, and many were in favor of returning to the 
former status under the town. The village charter was, how- 
ever, amended by acts of legislature in 1870, 1872, 1873, 1874, 
1875, 1877 and 1884. Under the cliarter of 1875 the village was 
divided into only two wards, with one trustee each, and a third 
trustee at large, who was to be president of the village corpora- 
tion. Under this charter the first ward trustees were Benjamin 
Brown and Mr. Fellowes ; and William Corry, president. 
Henry F. Standerwick was elected clerk. By the charter of 
1884 the village was divided into five wards, and the number of 
trustees was correspondingly increased. The boundaries given 
in that cliarter are as follows : 

"Commencing at a point on the shore of the bay of Xew 
York, where the center line of Arietta street, if prolonged, 
would intersect the shore of said bay, and running thence along 
said center line of Arietta street, southwesterly to the center 
line of the Richmond Turnpike ; thence along the said center 
line of the Richmond turnpike, southwesterlj' to the south- 
westerly side of the Clove road ; thence along the southwester- 
ly side of the Clove road southeasterly to the Richmond road ; 
thence along the easterly line of the Richmond road, southerly 
to the northerly line of the Old Town road ; thence along the 
northerly line of the Old Town road six hundred feet ; and 
thence on a line parallel to and at a distance of six hundred 
feet from the easterly side of the Richmond road, and continu- 
ing thence on a line parallel to and at a distance of six hundred 
feet southerly from the southerly line of the Fingerboard road, 
and westerly line of Sand lane to where said line intersects the 
Old Town road ; thence in a due southeasterly line to the lower 
bay of New York ; and thence along the lower and upper bay 
of New York, northeasterly and northerly to the place of be- 
ginning." 

The village of New Brighton was incorporated by act of the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 335 

legislature, April 26, 1866, and embraced the northerly half of 
the town of Castleton. It was about two and a half miles long 
in a straight line, and about one mile in width. Tiiis territory 
was divided into four wards, and the trustees appointed by the 
same act to carry its provisions into effect were: Augustus 
Prentice, first ward ; James W. Simonson, second ward ; Fran- 
cis G. Shaw, third ward ; and William H. .T. Bodine, fourth 
ward. The portion of the town remaining unincorporated was 
verj^ sparsely populated, but was obliged, nevertheless, to have 
a full corps of town officers, some of whom resided within the 
village, and exercised the offices without, as well as within, and 
the duties of some, such as the commissioners of highways, 
which office had been abolished within the village, could be 
performed only in the unincorporated remnant of the town. 
The bills rendered by these officers for their services at the end 
of each year were so large, that the taxes outside of the village 
were greater than those within. The only method the people 
could resort to for ridding themselves of this burden, was to 
seek admission into the corporation, which they did, and in 
1872 the remainder of the town was added to the village, and 
divided into two wards, the fifth and sixth. The dimensions of 
the village now are, about four miles long and two miles wide. 
In 1871, a large and elegant village hall was erected on Lafay- 
ette avenue, corner of Second street, at a cost of about thirty- 
six thousand dollars, including the land. 

The first village election was held May 22, 1866, for the 
election of a police justice. One of the first ordinances of the 
village trustees, on the 12th of May, "ordained" that a public 
pound be established on the premises of Edward Roe on the 
Mill road, and the said Roe was appointed i^ound master. The 
expenses of the village incorporation for the first year, to June 
1, 1867, were twenty-two thousand three hundred and twenty- 
six dollars and forty-two cents. The charter was amended by 
acts of the legislature in 1867, 1871, 1872, 1873 and 1875. Its 
limits are now identical with those of the former town of Cas- 
tleton. The office of village president has been held by the 
following: Augustus Prentice, 1866 ; John Laforge, 1867-69 ; 
Anson Livingston, 1870 ; George M. Usher, 1871 ; M. J. Fowler, 
1872 ; D. A. Pell, 1873 ; William Chorlton, 1874 ; R. B. Whitte- 
more, 1875-76 ; William 11. J. Bodine, 1877 ; Harry L. Horton, 
1878-79; David J. H. Willcox, 1880-84; John J. Featherston, 



336 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNXy. 

1885. The village clerks have been: Mark Cox, 1866-69 ; George 
Bowman, 1870 ; C. T. McCarthy, 1871-78 ; James C. Hill, 1879- 
81 ; John J. Kenney, 1882-85. 

The village of Port Richmond was incorporated by act of April 
24, 1866, but by reason of the unconstitutionality of the act, 
which appointed trustees for the village, no organization was 
effected until after the passage of an amendment on April 25, 
1867. Pursuant to this last act an election was held May 11, 
1867, and Nicholas Van Pelt, George W. Jewett, William A. 
Ross, Garret P. Wriglit, James B. Pollock, and Henry Miller, 
Jr., were elected trustees. The boundaries of the village given 
in the charter are as follows : 

"Northerly, by the river Kill Von KuU ; easterly, by the line 
between Castleton and Northfield ; southerly, beginning on a 
point at the bridge about three hundred feet southerly from the 
German Lutheran church and running thence westerly to the 
southerly side of the residence of Jacob Hatfield ; thence west- 
erly to a monument on the southwest corner of the Richmond 
granite quarry at the Morning Star road; thence running a 
westerly course to the southernmost line of the property of the 
Methodist Episcopal church on the new road at Mariner's Har- 
bor ; thence following the center of the road a northerly course 
to the river Kill Von Kull ; thence following the river to the 
place of beginning." 

Captain Nicholas Van Pelt occupied the position of president 
of the board of trustees continuously from the first till his 
death in December, 1881, when he was followed by Captain 
Garret P. Wright who has held the office till the present time 
(1885\ Frederick Groshon, the first village clerk, held that 
office till his death, March 12, 1872, when he was succeeded by 
De Witt Stafford, who continues in the office. James B. Pol- 
lock has been treasurer from the beginning to the present time. 

At the time of the organization of the village there was 
only about five hundred feet of sidewalk, mostly of biick, in 
the whole village. Improvement of the streets has since been 
steadily carried forward, including the widening of Shore 
road, Richmond and Jewett avenues, and other roads of less 
importance, until now every street of any considerable note 
is not only flagged, curbed and guttered, but thoroughly 
macadamized. In 1884 the village was supplied with water by 
contract with the Staten Island Water Company. Gas had 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



337 



been introduced previous to the organization of the village, 
though the corporation does not yet light the streets. A public 
park is owned by the village, through a gift of Messrs. Peter 
N. and VAer V. Haughwout who dedicated this spot for that 
purpose. These gentlemen, in 1836, purchased the farm of 
Judge David Mersereau, which lay between Richmond avenue 
on the west and Cottage place on the east, and the kills on the 
north and what is now Bond street on the south. Upon this 
they laid out what has since become the principal part of the 
village. 




THE JAQUES GUION HOUSE. = 
NEW DORP. B 



The territory now in the village limits lying east of the tract 
just described and on the south of it as far west as Church 
road belonged to the Jolin Simonson farm and was a part of 
the original patent to Cornelius Corsen. Cornelius Sebring 
owned a considerable tract lying on the west side of Richmond 
avenue (originally called Church road), as far west as to take 
in the lots facing on the west side of Mechanics' avenue, now 
called Lafayette avenue. A large tract on both sides of Morn- 
ing Star road, and on which are situated the granite quarries, 
was formerly owned by Vincent Fountain, and was purchased 
by one David Sand, by whom it was laid out into lots, and it 
now constitutes the thriving middle and southerly portion of 
the village, a part of it lieing known as Elm Park. The 
Haughwout tract before referred to may be more definitely 
described as being bounded on the north by the kills, west by 
23 



338 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Richmond avenue, south by the south line of Bond street 
and a continuation of that line westward to Richmond 
avenue, and east by a line about twelve feet east of the east 
side of Cottage place, and a continuation of the same line 
north to the Ivills. This was part of a tract whicli was 
granted by Governor Andros to Cornelius Corsen, Andrews 
Urianson, Derriclv Corneliusen and John Peterson, December 
30, 1G80. That grant extended from Palmer s run and the 
mill pond, eighty-eight rods along the shore of the kills to the 
little creeli between the store of Johnson and the Speer ship- 
yard, and comprehended 320 acres. 

Other village incorporations have been attempted, but their 
existence has been of short duration. In 1823 the legislature 
passed an act incorporating the village of Richmond, but the 
organization was not consumated. Tottenville was incorporated 
by an act of April 28, 1869, which was amended April 14, 1871. 
This charter also became inoperative through the failure of the 
people to approve its conditions. 



Hon. Daniel D. Tompkins, governor of the state of New 
York and vice-president of the United States, whose later years 
were spent on Staten Island, and after whom the village of 
Tompkinsville is named, was born at Scarsdale, Westchester 
county, N. Y., June 21, 1774. The son of Christian parents he 
was brought up in the Protestant faith. His delicate constitu- 
tion and aptness to learn induced his father to place him at the 
grammar school of Malcom Campbell in New York, September, 
1787; whence, at the end of a year, he was removed to the 
academy in North Salem. Here he continued till 1792, when 
he entered the sophomore class in Columbia College. During 
the last year of his college course he served in the law office of 
Peter Jay Monroe, Esq., and two years after graduating at the 
head of his class in 1795, he was admitted an attorney of the 
suj)reme court and subsequently a counsellor. He early inter- 
ested himself in politics. He became a staunch republican, and 
in the party struggles of 1799, 1800 and 1801 lie took a promi- 
nent and conspicuous part. His influence in the city of New 
York, especially in the Seventh ward, in which he had married 
Miss Hannah Minthorne, daughter of the wealthy and respect- 
able alderman of that name, was early felt, and to him in a 
great measure was due the election of Thomas Jefferson to the 




V9.-\n\'<st^ t. s.Ntv.^'^v^'^. ^. X. 



HISTORY OF RICHJIOXD COUXTY. 339 

presidency. In 1801 be was elected a representative of the city 
for the purpose of revising the constitution of the state and the 
following year he became a member of the slate legislature. 
Shortly after he was appointed by Judge Morgan Lewis one of 
the supreme judges of New York. In 1806 he might have suc- 
ceeded John S. Hobert to the district judgeship of the United 
States for the district of New York, but he declined, continu- 
ing to serve as a supreme judge till the spring of 1807, when he 
became, in his thirty-second year, the rival candidate of Gov- 
ernor Lewis for the chief magistracy of the state. 

He v.-as elected to the gubernatorial chair by an immense ma- 
jority, being inducted into office on the day on which intelli- 
gence was received of the British attack upon the American 
frigate "Chesapeake." The order of the president of the United 
States calling upon the governors to organize their respective 
quotas of militia also arrived at the State Capitol on the same 
day, and Governor Tompkins immediately set about the task 
of defending his native state. In 1808 the president a^jpointed 
him to the command of all the regular and militia forces on the 
frontier of New York. His instructions to the militia on this 
occasion evinced his energy and promptitude of character and 
received the marked approbation of General Wilkinson, then 
commander-in-chief of the arm}'. 

In 1812 Governor Tompkins, for the first time in the history 
of the state, prorogued the legislature. Through the favorable 
reception of a number of petitions of banking companies for 
incorporation a system had been projected which threatened 
irreparable evils to the community. This had been aided and 
promoted by corruption and bribery, and the emjihatic action 
of the governor was taken as a last resort. The step excited 
unusual animadversion, which extended even so far as to 
threaten his pex'sonal safety, but he was sustained throughout 
by the knowledge of having done his duty, and the fact that 
he was supported by the more honorable portion of the repub- 
lican party. 

In June, 1812, President James Madison declared war with 
Great Britain, and Governor Tompkins stood forth boldly as the 
fearless champion of the rights and liberties of the American 
people. A numerous and powerful party of disaffected citizens 
had shown itself in the Eastern states, formed with a view to 
paralyze the energies and cripple the resources of the United 



340 HISTORY OF RICHMOJfD COUNTY. 

States; and it became the avowed object of many persons of high 
consideration in that section of the Union to make a separate 
peace with the enemy of the republic and of United America. 
To make this project effectual it was necessary to gain New 
York state. The bold stand taken by Governor Tompkins in 
the proroguing of the legislature had raised for him many ene- 
mies among republicans, and a majority of federal members had 
been elected to the state legislature and to congress. In spite, 
however, of the opposition which howled against him, he was 
again elected to the governorship. His situation at that time 
was well calculated to dismay the stoutest heart. Amidst the 
disaffection in the East, the opposition of one branch of the 
legislature, and the northern frontier harassed by the enemy 
from Champlain to Presqu' isle, and threatening the capital of 
the state in the south, unaided by the constituted author- 
ities appointed to share with him in the government of the 
state, the governor had alone to sustain the arduous, embarass- 
ing and responsible duty of defense. But he rose sujjerior to 
circumstances, and by the firm, unshaken energy of his conduct 
he silenced or rendered inefficient the opposition of his own 
state. When the treasury was in an impoverished condition, 
money scarce and much wanted to carry on the war, he raised 
funds on his own responsibility and made himself liable beyond 
his means. He gave great attention to the defenses and in- 
trenchments in and around New York city and harbor, at which 
the citizens turned out and worked en masse. The vast prepa- 
ration for an expected attack, the pouring in of militia, volun- 
teers and regular troops were always accompanied by the pleas- 
ant, cheering and animated presence of Grovernor Tompkins. 
In 1813-14, upon his own responsibility, while the legislature 
was still in session, he issued orders for organizing a brigade of 
volunteers, to the command of which he appointed Gen. Peter 
B. Porter. This contingent saved the remnant of the gallant 
army of Niagara at the memorable sortie from Fort Erie. He 
also called into the field a large body of militia, and organized 
a corps of sea-fencibles, without waiting the slow action of the. 
legislature. In this important measure he received the cordial 
support and co-operation of the gallant Decatur, who com- 
manded the naval force of the United States on that station, as 
also the promised sanction and support of Hon. Rufus King. 
About this time the enemy's ships, commanded by Admiral 



HISTORY OF RICiniOND COUNTY. 341 

Cockburn, which had appeared off Sandy Hook for some time, 
suddenly disappeared. 

Soon after intelligence was received of the capture of the city 
of Washington, and of the intended movemfent of the enemy 
toward Baltimore. Decatur resolved at once to push forward 
with his sea-fencibles to the assistance of that city, and Gov- 
ernor Tompkins, to give spirit to the enterprise, promptly of- 
fered to accompany him as far as New Brunswick, when the 
news of the enemy being vanquished and their retreat fi'om 
Baltimore arrived just in time to prevent the march. In Octo- 
ber, 1814, Governor Tompkins was appointed to the command 
of the Third military district, which comprehended one of the 
most valuable portions of the United States, and included the 
largest and most heterogeneous military force that ever before 
fell to the command of an American general. He had also the 
offer of being secretary of state in the cabinet of the president, 
but this he declined, thinking his services more useful in the 
situation in which he was placed. 

In 1814 the general government was desirous of fitting out an 
expedition to dislodge the enemy from Castine. Thej^ applied 
to the governor of Massachusetts for aid, which was refused. 
In this dilemma the situation of the government was hinted to 
Governor Tompkins, who raised, on his own responsibilitj", 
three hundred thousand dollars, which he forthwith subjected 
to the orders of General Dearborn. Shortly afterward the war 
between Great Britain and the United States was brought to a 
successful termination, and the governor returned to the peace- 
ful duties of the chief magistracy. In the last term of his guber- 
natorial career, at the approaching election, he was proposed 
as a suitable person for president of the United States, which 
however, was waived by him and his friends in consideration of 
his being a junior in age to James Monroe, whose revolutionarj^ 
services entitled him to superior claims ; he was accordingly 
nominated and elected vice-president. 

On the expiration of his term as vice-president he retired to 
private life, spending the greater part of his time in the im- 
provement of his farm in Richmond county. Here his spacious 
and hospitable mansion became one of the homes of literature, 
philanthropy and art. To its ever open doors flocked men of 
letters, artists, lawyers, statesmen, patriots and soldiers, people 
of all nationalities and of all beliefs. At Staten Island he re- 



342 HISTORY OF KICiniOND COUNTY. 

ceived the illustrions victor, General Jackson, also President 
Monroe and the beloved La Fayette after his landing at quaran- 
tine on his second visit to the United States. 

The last public service of Governor Tompkins was as a dele- 
gate from Richmond county to the state convention to alter the 
constitution in 1821, of which he became president. In June, 
1825, in the 51st year of his age, he died. His mortal remains, 
on the 13th of June, 1825, were conveyed in the steamboat 
" Nautilus," to the city of New York, and at Whitehall, the 
place of landing, were met by a vast concourse of citizens, who 
accompanied them to their last resting place in the family vault 
of his wife's father, Alderman Minthorne, in St, Mark's 
churchyard. Eighteen years after his burial, on the 21st day 
of June, 184.3, his birthday was celebrated at the village of 
Tompkinsville, Staten Island. An address was delivered and 
troops from various parts of the country took part in the cele- 
bration. 

Such was the man whose patriotism, talents, integrity and 
distinguished services to his country in trial and difficulty, both 
in peace and in war, we record, as a just tribute to his memory. 
His name added a lustre to the county in which he spent his 
declining years and in its history he deserves a conspicuous 
place. To its chui-ches, schools and social life he lent the ripe- 
ness of his talent and the richness of his benevolence. As one 
of her greatest and her noblest citizens Staten Island will ever 
continue to honor his memory. 

Hon. Erastus Brooks. — Among the many well known liter- 
ary and professional gentlemen who from time to time have 
made their homes on Staten Island was Hon. Erastus Brooks, 
formerly editor of the '■'■ReicYorJi Express.^- He was a man well 
known in the religious, social and political life of Richmond 
county, and during the years 1878, 1879, 1881, 1882 and 1883, 
he was its representative in assembly. 

Mr. Brooks was born in Portland, Me., January 31, 1815. 
Shortly before his birth his father, Captain James Brooks, who 
commanded a privateer during the war of 1812, had gone down 
with his vessel, leaving his wife and three children dependent 
for their support upon a government pension. As a result of 
these straightened circumstances, Erastus, at the age of 8 years, 
left his home for Boston with the object of earning his own liv- 
ing. He found a place in a grocery store and worked for his 










\rv^:rSVui 



w%\H\xn^ t. v,\^L'i\i\v\)\, 1* ^. 



HISTOUY OF TtlCHJtOND COUNTY. 343 

boarrl and clothes, studjang diligently tlie while, at a night- 
school. Soon he entered a printing office and learned the trade 
of a compositor, and with the mone.y which he earned he ob- 
tained enough education to enter " Brown University." Here 
he pursued a partial course, at the same time supporting him- 
self by working at the compositor's case. When he was 18, he 
started a newspaper, called the '■'■Yankee,'''' after his father's brig, 
in Wiscasset, Me., soon after which he purchased the Haverhill 
''Gazette:' 

In 1835, Mr. Brooks went to Washington, D. C, and became 
the correspondent of a number of newspapers, an employment 
in which he continued for sixteen years. He engaged as asso- 
ciate editor of the "-NemYork Express" with his brother, James 
Brooks, in 1840, and remained in this connection forty-one 
years. During this time he passed through various experiences, 
traveling in 1843 through Europe, and being wrecked off Sandy 
Hook on his return; an accident in which he suffered the loss 
of all his ijossessions. He published his paper almost single 
handed during the cholera epidemic, when people fled from the 
city, and he was among the first to use the telegraph for news- 
paper reports. Mr. Brooks was fond of telling of his news 
victories over rival journals, and some of these showed great 
sagacity and enterprise. For many years he served as one of 
the executive committee of the associated press, and was for 
a considerable time its general manager. 

His entrance into politics was rather forced on him than 
sought, but once enlisted, he engaged with his whole heart in 
this as he did in everything which he undertook. He was 
elected to the state senate in 1853. Two years afterward he 
rendered his position prominent by a controversy with Arch- 
bishop Hughes relative to the limits to be set to the acquisition 
of church property by the Roman Catholic church and the ex- 
emption of property from taxation, he holding that, as its title 
was vested in the priest, it should be taxed when it reached be- 
yond a certain value. The controversy, tirst carried on through 
the columns of the "Courier and Enquirer " finally went into 
the state senate, of which Mr. Brooks was elected a member on 
the know-nothing or American party ticket in 1853. This 
con trovers}', which attracted attention all over the world, was 
published in book form in 1855, under the title of "A Contro- 
versy on Church Property." The position he took led to his 



344 HISTORY OP^ RICHMOND COUNTY. 

being noniiuated by the know-nothings as a candidate for gov- 
ernor in 1856. From that time onward, he was frequently in 
public office, taking part in political conventions and serving 
the state in the constitutional conventions and in the assembly 
for a number of years. He became the leader of his party 
and one of the more j)rominent and iutluential men of the bodies 
in which he served. 

Mr. Brooks was a man of great dignity and decorum. Having 
been called on to preside over important public assemblies 
through a long period, he had acquired habits of attention to 
business and prompt decision which made him an admirable 
executive. His acquaintance was extensive, and he knew the 
character and adaptations of men, so that in the formation of 
committees or the management of affairs he was of great use to 
the cause which he served. He was conservative in his princi- 
ples and a man of strong convictions of duty. He might have 
had many more political honors than those which he won by 
positive merit, had he been able to crouch or fawn, or make un- 
worthv bargains with party leaders, but he was a high-minded, 
upright man who served God and his own conscience first, and 
party second. Hence he was often ignored by the politicians 
who knew that he could not be used for their purposes, though 
they sorely needed his ability and wisdom. 

He was a most benevolent man. He was not rich, and there- 
fore could not endow charitable institutions, but he gave what 
was better than money, his personal service in their boards of 
direction. He spent freely of his time, even in the busiest 
l)eriod of his life, and gave careful and regular attention to the 
management of such charities as the "New York Institution 
for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb " and the " Nursery 
and Child's Hospital." He visited the legislature in their be- 
half, and attended frequent meetings to promote their interests; 
through the press, and by personal influence he attracted at- 
tention to their wants, and secured new friends for them. 
When he took hold of any work he took hold " with both 
hands earnestly." In the National Charities Association, in 
the state board of health, in the national convention of deaf 
mute instructors, as a trustee of Cornell University, in the In- 
dian conferences, and in the constitutional conventions, he was 
recognized as a man of wisdom and power, of profound convic- 
tions, untiring industry and excellent judgment. In sdcial life 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 345 

he was a pleasant companion. He had lived so much in public 
that his conversation abounded in reminiscences of the great 
men of a past generation, and he could draw at will upon a full 
and retentive memory to illustrate or adorn any subject of dis- 
cussion. But his public life had not made him cold and care- 
less of private and personal interests. He was too much of a 
Puritan to be very demonstrative, but he made close and warm 
friendships founded upon mutual esteem. 

Mr. Brooks believed in reforming and elevating society by 
personal effort with individuals, and not by schemes and reso- 
lutions ; and so, while he was a true philanthropist, he was what 
is better still, a true Christian. He believed in God, and served 
him first and always, and was known and respected as a religi- 
ous man. Like the late Governor Seymour, who was his inti- 
mate friend, he honored religion and was esteemed and trusted 
by men of the church, as well as by men of the world who knew 
his staunch integrity, and by men of the state who knew his 
political virtue. He was a simple, humble Christian, who 
often opened the meetings of boards where he presided with 
l^rayer, and who, though firm in his own opinions, had charity 
and kindness for those who held different ones. His life was 
long honored and useful, his name will be cherished by many 
whom he has befriended, and will be recoi'ded among the edit- 
ors, the statesmen and the benefactors of this century in the 
state of New York and in the United States of America. His 
last public service was in connection with the Indian conference 
at Lake Mohonk in October, from whicli he returned seriousl'y 
ill, and his last literary work was a review of that conference 
which he wrote for the ^' Neio York Observer^* Mi\ Brooks 
died November 25th, 1886. His loss was deeply felt, not only in 
his family and the community in which he lived, but through- 
out the whole country. The newspapers, of which he was so 
thorough an advocate, were filled with eulogistic articles tak 
ing uj) the story of his life anew. With his death passed from 
the stage of action one of the noblest and brightest examples 
of old fashioned statesmanship and patriotism. Staten Island 
had in him a true citizen, and its society profitted by associa- 
tion and acquaintance with him. 

* This life of Mr. Brooks, witli slight modification, appeared in the "New York 
Observer,'- Dec. 9th, 1886. 



346 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Cornelius A. Hart. — Perhaps no young man in Richmond 
county has so distinguished himself for his energy and busi- 
ness ability as has the present county clerk, Cornelius A Hart. 
Born under no advantageous circumstances — surrounded by 
none of those conditions which usually foster ambition and 
create desire to shine, he has yet, though but thirty seven years 
of age, suc'ceeded in gaining for himself a sound and practical 
education, the possession of ample fortune and a popularity 
second to that of no other individual on Staten Island. 

Mr. Hart was born in New Brighton in I80I. After a pre- 
liminary course at the public school in that village he attended 
"•the academy conducted by Dr. Scheck in the building now 
known as "Belmont Hall." In 1868 he commenced a course 
of study at the New York Commercial College, which he left 
to enter the importing house of James Reid & Co., of New 
York city. Here in a short period of time he succeeded in 
raising himself from the lowest to the highest position in the 
employ of the firm, passing through every grade in the office 
and having nine clerks under his charge at the time of his leave 
taking. 

Mr. Hart's father, Patrick Hart, had been for many years a 
pronunent and successful contractor on Staten Island. It was 
he who laid out Bard avenue and many of the principal streets 
in the neighborhood of New Brighton, and his son, influenced 
by his example, left the firm with which he was employed to en- 
gage in the same business. His remarkable success in it is well 
known to the people of Staten Island. 

Mr. Hart's connection with the laying out of new streets and 
with improvements generally, has induced him to make 
numerous and large investments in real estate which he is 
constantly improving and reselling in lots to suit purchasers. 
In 1884, he bought a large tract of land in New Brighton 
through which he has opened seven avenues. Forest, Hart, 
Sharon, Oakwood, Greenwood, Laurel and University place. 
The whole is divided into three hundred and fifty city lots and 
situated in one of the most attractive localities on the island. 
Mr. Hart is one of the largest tax-payers in the town of Cas- 
tleton. He has also recently j^urchased other lots in New 
Brighton, a large plot of ground in West Brighton and the 
residence and grounds of the late Commodore Sloat, com- 
mander of the United States Navy. His extensive advertise- 





dlynttiM 





HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 347 

ments in the Xew York '• World'''' and other New York daily 
papers are rapidly bringing him into prominence as a real estate 
specnlator and owner. 

To speak of Mr. Hart's political career is but to repeat what 
is already known throughout the whole of Richmond county. 
From his boyhood days he took an interest in i^olitics and his 
connection with the democratic party has resulted in benefit 
both to it and himself. In 1876 he was elected trustee of the 
village of New Brighton by the largest majority ever given a 
candidate from the Second ward. In 1878 he was elected county 
clerk by a phenominally large majority, was reelected to the 
position in 1881, his antagonist receiving but 278 votes out of a 
total of about 7,000 cast, and was again elected in 1884, when he 
I'an 1,000 votes ahead of the Cleveland majority, in itself the 
largest ever received by a presidental ticket in the county. 
When he first entered the clerk's office at Richmond he found 
books and papers scattered about in confusion, and the most 
valuable historical documents in process of slow destruction 
from want of the most ordinary care. He immediately set him- 
self to work with that determination and will which character- 
ized all his actions, and in a short time, to the great relief of 
the legal fraternity with whom he has most of his dealings, 
had so thoroughly straightened affairs as to draw down upon 
himself the enconiums of the entire county press irrespective 
of party. The lack of partiality which he has shown in all 
his dealings has not been the least noticeable feature of his ad- 
ministration at Richmond, and his pleasant word for all policy 
has greatly added to his popularity as a man. 

He numbers among his friends and adherents both democrats 
and republicans, rich and poor, young and old. His benevo- 
lent and charitable disposition is widely known and appreciated, 
and his brilliant parts are constantly attracting to him the notice 
of substantial and thoughtful business men. This is shown by 
the fact that he was chosen by the Rapid Transit Railroad Com- 
pany to represent their cause at Washington, which he did with 
ability and with success. 

Mr. Hart was married, June 23, 1875, to Miss Hannah Bowman 
of New Brighton, whose exemplary life won for her many friends, 
and whose sad death, July 25, 1882, was deeply felt through- 
out the entire community. Mr. Hart is a member of St. Peter's 
church, New Brighton, and is liberal in his gifts toward its sup- 



348 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTT. 

port. He is also connected with many clubs, societies and 
social organizations. In his tastes he is domestic, though he is 
fond of athletic sports, especiallj' of hunting and lishing, 
which he frequently travels long distances to enjoy. He is on 
intimate terms with many of the foremost newspaper men in 
the country, and extracts in the daily papers referring to him 
are numerous, some coming even from California. The many 
incidents and laughable stories relating to him which have been 
published will long be remembered, and the popularity which 
he has acquired by his fine social qualities is built on a lasting 
foundation. We take pleasure in presenting this short sketch 
of his life, especially to his many young friends on Staten 
Island. His history strikingly illustrates the truth of the fol- 
lowing lines from a poem which he has preserved in a scrap book 
containing many allusions to him, now in the author's posses- 
sion. 

"There is no chance, no destiny, no fate 

Can circumvent or hinder or control 

The firm resolve of a determined soul. 
***** 

Let the fool prate of Luck. The fortunate 

Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves, 

AVhose slightest action or inaction serves 

The one great aim. Why, even death stands still 

And waits an hoiu- sometimes for such a will." 



CHAPTER VIII. 



CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 



The Dutch Reformed Churches.— The Episcopal Churches. — Baptist Churches. — 
Methodist Churches. — The Moravian Church. — The Roman Catholic Churches. 
— The Church of the Huguenots. — Unitarian Church. — Presbyterian Churches. 
—Lutheran Churches.— Y. M. C. A. 



FOR a large part of the liistory of the Dutch Reformed de- 
nomination on the island we are indebted to the vener- 
able pastor of the church at Port Richmond, Rev. James 
Brownlee, D. D., who enjoys the very unusual honor of a pas- 
torate of more than fifty years' duration. 

There is evidence enough to prove, in an unbroken chain, the 
identity of this church, from the time when the little band of 
Waldenses first settled on these shores and established the wor- 
ship of the Redeemer for whom they had suffered so much. 

It would be a matter of great interest to us now to know 
more of the way in which our ancestors worshipped ; their dif- 
ficulties, and struggles, and successes. Even their names, 
standing on the record, would be of interest to their descend- 
ants. Many of these, indeed, we have, in an old register of 
baptisms in the Dutch language, from 1696 onward, and many 
names of families also which have no living representatives on 
the island. This record will be found in another part of this 
work. 

The Rev. Samuel Drisius, who was one of the pastors of the 
Dutch church in New York, then New Amsterdam, from 1652 
to 1682, preached regularly once a month to the Waldenses on 
Staten Island from about 1660 onward. It may be fairly in- 
feri'ed from that fact, that there was a little church of that 
noble and devoted people established here ; not a church build- 
ing, perhaps, till later, but a little band of Christ's jjeople, wor- 
shipping in some spot where they found it most convenient ; it 
might be in one of de Vries' buildings for the dressing of buck- 



350 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

skin ; it might be under some spreading oali of the pi-imeval 
forest at " Oude DoriJ," where their first settlement was made. 
Doctor De Witt, some years before his death, in a brief note to 
Doctor Brownlee, says on this subject : 

" During the Dutch Colonial government there was a settle- 
ment of the persecuted French Yaudois, or Waldenses, on Sta- 
ten Island, as early as 1G60. The Rev. Samuel Drisius, of our 
church in this city, crossed the bay once a month to preach to 
them. There was a Huguenot settlement on the Island a short 
time afterward, parties of these having lied to Holland to escape 
from persecution, and having come over to New Netherlands in 
company with their new friends. After a season the French 
church and organization passed away, and the great body of its 
members became blended with the Dutcli inhabitants, in the 
Reformed Dutch church. The fact of the settlement of a con- 
siderable number of the persecuted Waldenses on Staten Island 
is very interesting. They had fled from the dreadfnl persecn- 
tions in the valleys of Piedmont, to Holland, and were sent, at 
the expense of the city of Amsterdam, amply provided for, to 
New Netherlands in America." 

We may be certain that these martyrs for the faith of Christ, 
whose religion was everything to them, would not be long con- 
tent without some regular church organization, and the stated 
enjoyment of ordinances ; and therefore we conclude that soon 
after 1660, under the care of Dominie Drisius, this privilege 
was secured by them. 

In 1661 grants of land on the island were made to several 
persons, among whom were some Waldenses, and also many 
Huguenots, who had fled hither from La Rochelle. They 
commenced a new settlement a few miles south of the Narrows, 
near that of de Vries already mentioned, and built a little vil- 
lage of twelve or fourteen houses, and a block-house with two 
small guns and a garrison of ten soldiers, for protection against 
the Indians. It was to this little colony, at their earnest re- 
quest, that Dominie Drisius, who could preach in French, min- 
istered once a month, dispensing the sacraments at regular in- 
tervals, while the colony was too feeble to supj^ort a minister 
of its own. The descendants of these Waldenses and Hugue- 
nots are still numerous on the island, and bear some of the old-, 
est and most honored names among us. Many of them have 
become connected with other denominations, partly from con- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 351 

venienoe of residence, but more on account of the persist- 
ence of the Dutch church in the use of the language of the 
Fatherland, long after English had become the prevailing 
tongue. / 

In the year 1680 it is known that there were two churches, 
with houses of worship on the island. One, and perhaps the 
first built, was a church of the Huguenots at Fresh kill, ou 
what is known as the Seaman farm. The services in this 
church for nearly forty years later were conducted in French, 
and although all vestiges of the church building have disap- 
peared, there is still the little grave-yard with a few dilapidated 
gi'avestones to mark the spot were it stood. 

Very soon after this there was another French church built 
at Stony Brook, on the road from Quarantine to Amboy, not 
far from what was long known as the Black Horse tavern. This 
was built by the Waldenses from " Oude Dorp," whose num- 
bers had increased and led them to extend their settlements. 
All remains, save some stones of the foundation of this church, 
have disappeared, but here, too, there are some graves of these 
noble exiles. 

About the same time (1680) there are traces of a church on 
the north side, in which the services were in the Dutch language, 
the Hollanders having settled in considerable numbers along 
the kills. 

As yet these churches had no settled pastor of their own. 
Along with Dominie Drisius, Dominie Selyns, who was pastor 
of the churches of Bro(jklyn, Bushwick and Gravesend, from 
1660 to ITOl^with an interval of some years, during which he 
revisited Holland — preached to the churches here at stated 
times. 

In 1682 and 1683, Dominie Tarchemaker, from the University 
of Utrecht, supplied the churches on the island. He afterward 
removed to Schenectady, and perished there in a massacre by 
the Indians in February, 1690. 

The Rev. Pierre Daille, who had been professor in the Col- 
lege of Saumur, and who came to America in 1683, and was 
colleague to Dominie Selyns from that year to 1692, preached 
frequently to the Huguenots on Staten Island, and also at New 
Rochelle, and elsewhere in the vicinity of New York. Domi- 
nie Selyns, in a letter to the Classis of Amsterdam, speaks of 
him as being " full of tire, godliness and learning. Banished 



352 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTT. 

on account of his religion, he maintains the cause of Christ 
with untiring zeal." 

About this time, from 1687 onward, for nearly two years, the 
church at Stony Brook was supplied by a certain Laurentius 
Van den Bosch, or Van Bosen, as it was sometimes written. 
His character seems to have been under a cloud, for he was 
susijended from the ministry by Dominie Selyns and others, 
who could not wait for the slow process of sending their pro- 
ceedings to be reviewed by the authorities in Holland, which 
in those times frequently consumed a whole year. Van Boseu 
afterward went to Mai'yland. 

From 1694 for about three years the churches were without 
any stated supply. They were visited frequently, however, and 
the ordinances administered to them by the ministers of New 
York and Long Island. There are also frpquent records of 
baptisms by Dominie Batolvius, as it is written, and also by 
Dominie Gilliam, whose residence is not mentioned. It has 
been ascertained that these names indicate the Rev. Guillaume 
Bertholf, who was pastor of the churches of Aquachanonck 
and Hackensack, N. J., from 1694 to 1724, and whose services 
were much in demand on the island. 

In 1697 the French church at Freshkill obtained the services 
of a pastor of their own. The Rev. Dr. David Bonrepos, who 
had been settled several years at New Rochelle, came to Staten 
Island, and remained till 1717, preaching also to the church at 
Stony Brook. In the latter year the good old pastor was com- 
pelled by age and infiiniities to relinquish his charge, and left 
the island. 

In 1714 a gi-ant was made by Governor Hunter, to the repre- 
sentatives of the "Reformed Protestant Dutch Church," to 
erect a new house of worship at some convenient place on the 
north shore, the place not specified. The grant for a new 
church implies an old one previously existing. The grant itself 
is still extant, and in perfect preservation. It is signed by the 
governor, and dated at Fort George, September 3, 1714. 

Before 1717 there must have been a Dutch church in the vil- 
lage of Richmond, although no record of it exists. In that 
year, after the retirement of Dr. Bonrepos, the churches at 
Freshkill and at Stony Brook united with the Dutch inhab- 
itants, who had gradually become the preponderating element 
in the population, and together built a new church in the vil- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 353 

lage of Richmond, which stood, probably, in or near a little 
graveyard nearly opposite the court house. 

About the same time as this grant from Governor Hunter, or 
perhaps a year earlier, in the twelfth year of the reign of Queen 
Anne, which would be 1713, St. Andrew's church in Richmond 
was erected. The first accounts of the settlement of the Eng- 
lish church, as it was then called, are interesting and character- 
istic. There is a " Historical account of the society for propa- 
gating the gospel in the British Colonies," by David Hum- 
phreys, D. D., published in London, 1730. A copy is to be 
found in the rooms of the Long Island Historical Society, in 
Brooklyn. 

It appears that the Rev. Mr. McKenzie was sent here as a 
missionary in 1704, and met with a very kind reception from 
the people, although scarcely one third of them were English. 
The rest were Dutch and French. The French had a minister 
of their own, and had built a church. The English had no 
place convenient for divine worship, and the French generously 
granted the use of their church to Mr. McKenzie, which he oc- 
cupied for seven years, till St. Andrew's was built. That was 
characteristic of the French and the Dutch, who were by this 
time cordially blending in their worship, as their doctrines 
were identical. 

It is said that the Dutch were at first somewhat averse to the 
English liturgy, but as it was taken for granted that their ob- 
jections could only arise from their ignorance of it, Mr. Mc- 
Kenzie sent to London for a good supply of prayer books in 
Dutch, and distributed them freely among the j^eople, after 
which, it is added, " they found no fault with it, and began to 
have a just esteem for our excellent form of worship." That 
was a wise scheme, and accounts, in part at least, for so many 
Dutch and French names in St. Andrew's church. 

Then again Mr. McKenzie, who seems to have been a very 
zealous man, had the island divided into three pi'ecincts, and a 
teacher was appointed in each, who was supported by a grant 
from the society in London. These taught, of course, in the 
English language, and also taught the children in the church 
catechism, with the explanations, and taught them also to join 
in public worship. 

In 1712 ''the Justices of Richmond County, the High Sheriff, 
the Clerk and the Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty's militia 

23 



354 IIISTORV OF KICHMOND COUNTS'. 

in the Country, as well for themselves as in the name, and at 
the desire of the other inhabitants of the said County raemi^ers 
of the Church of England," return thanks to the society in 
London for the support of their worthy pastor, whom they 
highly and justlj' praise. And then they go on to say, " upon 
his first induction there were not above four or live in the whole 
county who knew anything of our excellent liturgy and form 
of worshij), and many of them knew little more of any religion 
than the common notion of a Deity; and as their ignorance was 
great, so was their practice irregular and barbarous. But now, 
by the blessing of God attending his labors, our church in- 
creases; a considerable reformation is wi-ought, and something 
of the face of Christianity is seen among us." 

It will be observed that this is written while they had as yet 
no place of worship of their own, and were still occupying the 
French church "by sufferance," as they themselves express it. 
And yet these blessed justices and high sheriff and the rest 
ignore with celestial complacency the fact that there had been 
Christian worship on the island for more than tifty years, and 
at least three Christian churches built for more than thirty 
years, and sustained by the descendants of the Waldenses and 
Huguenots, among the noblest Christian men and women the 
world has ever seen; that one of these churches for seven years 
past had charitably given shelter to these members of the Eng- 
lish church in their religious services. 

In the meantime the church on the north side, although a 
house of worship was erected at a very early period, seems to 
have been dependent on such occasional services as the neigh- 
boring ministers were able to render. Besides those of Drisius, 
Selyns, Daille and Bertholf, there were frequent services by 
Dominie Freeman, of Xew Utrecht, on Long Island, and also 
by Dominie Anthonius, of Flatbush, Flatlands and Bushwick, 
Long Island. In one instance a baptism is recorded as per- 
formed by "Dom. Anthony of Staaten Eiland," but it is evi- 
dently a mistake for Long Island. There are also frequent 
records of baptisms "door Dominy uit Esopus," whose name 
is not mentioned, but who was without doubt the Rev. Fetrus 
Vas, who was minister at Esopus, or Kingston, and afterwai'd 
at Rhinebeck from 1710 to 1756, and who died at the age 
of 96. 

After the retirement of Di-. Bonrepos, in 1717, the three 



HISTORY OF lUCIIJIOND COUNTY. 355 

churches, of the Waldenses at Stony Brook, of the Huguenots 
at Freshkill, and the Dutch at Richmond, united and came to 
worship together at Richmond. We can find no account of this 
Dutch church further than tlie fact of tlieir having a house of 
worshij) to offer to the united churches, wliicli is a matter of 
record. In that year tlie churcli at the north side and this 
united church at Riclimond joined in a call to Rev. Cornelius 
VanSantvoord, of Leyden, in Holland. He accepted the call, 
and came over to this country in 1718, when he was settled as 
pastor over these churches. It was thus that the churches on 
the island became blended into one, and transmitted to us here 
the honorable ancestry to which we lay claim, as the repre- 
sentatives of the Waldenses and the Huguenots, merging their 
organization at length in that of the more rapidly increasing- 
Dutch. 

There is no date of the settlement of Dominie Van Santvoord 
extant; but the first baptism administered by him is recorded 
April 20th, 1718, the child's name being Johannes Van JN'amen. 
Dominie Van Santvoord was a man of admirable character and 
abilities, and is known to have ministered with great accept- 
ance from time to time, in the neighboring churches of New 
Jersey and Long Island as well as in the citj-. He remained in 
his charge here, preaching also frequently at Second River, 
now Belleville, N. J., until 1742, when he removed to Schenec- 
tady. Among the papers in possession of the consistory there 
is a bundle of receipts for salary from Dominie Van Santvoord, 
extending over several years. They are written in beautiful 
handwriting, and are sometimes given for very small sums, on 
one occasion "Twee ponden, acht schellingen," being carefully 
acknowledged. They indicate the fact of his ministering to 
the two churches, that on the north side being evidently the 
principal one. He was the author of several works of a theo- 
logical character. He also kept up a correspondence with the 
professors of tlie University of Leyden, by whom he was much 
esteemed. 

After Dr. Van Santvoord left the island there is an interval 
of eight years, up to 1750, of which no record can be found. 
Occasional services were performed, and baptisms administered 
by ministers from the city, and also by Dominies Vas and 
Anthonius as before. 

In 1750 the church on the north side united with that at Ber- 



356 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUXTY. 

gen, N. J., in a call to a minister to supply them in common. 
His name was Petrus De Wint. The agreement drawn up by 
the consistories regarding their respective shares of the ser- 
vices, and their contributions for the minister's support, is very 
specific. Each was to have a righteous half of the services, 
and to make a righteous half of the payment. The church at 
Bergen was to furnish a parsonage and sufficient firewood. 
That on Staten Island engaged to give "an able riding horse, 
with all that belongs to it." After that it was stipulated that 
" the dominie was to look out for his own horse." 

De Wint accepted the call, and commenced his labors in the 
two churches in ITSl ; but these did not continue long. The 
call had to be sent to Holland, to be approved by the Classis 
of Amsterdam, and they immediately wrote back to the con- 
sistory at Bergen that De "Wint was an imposter, and that the 
credentials by which he had obtained a favorable reception 
were forgeries. Of course he was at once discharged by the two 
consistories ; and a final settlement was had with him at Ber- 
gen, which is recorded in the minutes of that consistory, June 
22, 1752. 

In Jnne, 1753, the two churches again joined in calling Mr. 
William Jackson, then a student under the care of Rev. John 
Frelinghuysen, of Raritan, N. J. By the terms of the call 
Mr. Jackson was to proceed to Holland to complete his studies 
there, the churches agreeing, in the meantime, to pay him an 
annual sum for his support. He remained in Holland four 
years and a half, and was ordained there. On his return he 
was installed pastor of the two churches, in 1757. 

Mr. Jackson was much esteemed as a pi-eacher, and in the re- 
formed Dutch churches in Middlesex and Somerset counties, 
had a reputation as a field preacher scarcely inferior to Whit- 
field. Instances are recorded in which the crowds assembled to 
hear him could not be contained in any church, and the ser- 
vices had to be held in the open air. After ministering for up- 
ward of a quarter of a century, he became subject to fits of 
mental aberration ; not frequent at first, but very afflictive; and 
while suffering from them he would say strange things in the 
pulpit, by which the gravity of his hearers was sorely dis- 
turbed, while the body of his discourse would be sound and 
edifying. His illness at last increased to such a degree that the 
two churches had to apply to the Classis of Hackensack for a 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 357 

commission to inquire into his case. This met in December, 
1789, and after a patient investigation, continued during three 
days, Mr. Jackson's insanity was deemed to be such as to pre- 
clude the hope of liis farther usefulness, and he was advised to 
return his call. This he finally did, although with extreme re- 
luctance, for his heart was set upon his Master's work. He 
never seemed willing to stop when preaching. On one occasion, 
when at New Brunswick, his audience became so weary that 
his friend, Hon. James Schureman, ventured to give him a hint 
by holding up his watch. The dominie said to him quietly, 
"Schureman, put up your watch, Paul preached till mid- 
night." 

He finally bound himself under a penalty of five hundred 
pounds not to preach, or administer the sacraments within the 
bounds of the two churches. His ministry lasted thirty-two 
years, and the two churches, greatly to their honor, united in 
making a comfortable j)rovision for their pastor as long as he 
lived. 

After Mr. Jackson resigned his ministry the connection be- 
tween the two churches of Bergen and Staten Island was dis- 
solved, having continued harmoniously thirty-nine years. In 
1769 a deed was given by Jacob Rezeau to the Rev. Mr. Jack- 
son and the consistory of the Reformed Dutch church at Rich- 
mond and the session of the English Presbyterian church at 
Stony Brook, for land in the village of Richmond on which to 
build a church, these two bodies being desirous of uniting. 

From this it would appear that after the Waldenses left 
Stony Brook, in order to unite with the Dutch and the French 
Huguenots in 1717, as already mentioned, a Presbyterian church 
was formed in the place which they had occupied. The deed 
mentions the names of James Rezeau and Samuel Broome as 
" the present Elders of the English Presbyterian Church, ac- 
cording to the Westminster Confession of Faith, Catechism 
and Directory, agreeable to the present established Church of 
Scotland." The deed conveyed a small lot, sixty-five feet by 
fifty-five, to these parties. As far as we can understand it this 
is the ground on which the present Reformed church in Rich- 
mond stands. The cliurch then standing at Stony Bi'ook was 
to be removed and rebuilt on this lot. The deed was granted 
by the donor " in consideration of the pious and laudable de- 
sign of the said parties, and also of the sum of ten shillings, 



3f)S HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

lawful money of the province of New York, to him in hand 
paid." It is distinctly specified that if ever any attempt shall 
be made to alienate the property from sacred to secular pur- 
poses, it shall be lawful for the grantor, his heirs or assigns, to 
enter on it and reclaim it. This, unhappily, seems a not im- 
possible contingency, in the present condition of that church. 

The first minutes of the consistory of the Port Richmond 
church, i:)reserved in regular form, are dated June 25, 1785. 
At a meeting then held, this minute is recorded, along with 
some others not of interest, "our house of worship — the six- 
sided building described before — having been destroyed in the 
late unhappy war, it was resolved to build a new one, of brick." 
The account is that the building was greatly injured by fire by 
the British troops, and afterward blown down in a severe storm. 
A committee was appointed to raise money for the purpose at 
home and in the neighboring churches, and to superintend the 
building. There are no particulars of the progress of the work, 
but it was ready for service in March, 1788. 

In 1790, the Rev. Peter Stryker was ordained minister of 
this church, and remained till 1794, when he accepted a call 
from Second River, now Belleville, N. J. During his incum- 
bency the church was incorporated, in 1792, under the style and 
title of " The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, on Staten 
Island," the names of the incorporators being Rev. Peter Stry- 
ker, Hendrick Garretson, John Van Pelt, Wilhelmus Vre^land, 
John Garretson, William Merrill, Peter Haughwout, Abraham 
Prahl, and jS'^icholas Haughwout. 

After Mr. Stryker's departure, the church remained without 
a pastor for three years, when Mr. Thomas Kirby was ordained 
over it. He remained a little over three years, when he was 
obliged to resign ; the means of his support having been almost 
entirely withdrawn. He was an Englishman without culture, 
unable even to spell correctly, and the minutes in his hand- 
writing are such as would disgrace a schoolboy. Fifty years 
ago there were many living who had sat under his ministry, 
and knew him well. He soon showed himself to be a man with- 
out much character, and his habits were so gross as to disgust 
most of those who came into contact with him. He was 
suspended from the ministry for intemperance after leav- 
ing the island, but was afterward restored, and went to 
Canada. 



HISTORY OF RICHJIOND COUNTY. 359 

The church at Richmond, erected on Mr. Rezeau's grant, 
was burnt down also, during the war, by the British troops, 
because it was, as they termed it, a rebel church. "This 
speaks well," says Doctor Brownlee, "for the descendants of 
the Waldenses and the Huguenots, and the Dutch 
with wlioni they blended ; and their descendants may feel 
proud that it did not earn the distinction of being al- 
lowed to stand. There were no tories then in our churches, here 
or at Richmond ; and so both of them were burnt." 

During Mr. Kirby's ministry, an application was made by 
Benjamin Swaim and Israel Oakley, for the concurrence of the 
consistory here in building a new church at Richmond, on 
the foundation of the old French church ; and steps were taken 
to organize a church, by ordaining two elders and two deacons. 
Very particular arrangements were also made as to the times and 
the amount of service to be rendered by the pastor ; but Mr. 
Kirby was not the man to succeed in a work of that kind, 
and the project was not carried out till some years later. 

On the 16th of May, 1802, Rev. Peter I. Van Pelt, after- 
ward Doctor "Van Pelt, was ordained pastor of the church, 
and remained till 1835, when the relation between him and the 
church was dissolved by mutual consent. Dr. Van Pelt's 
labors were exceedingly popular and successful from the first ; 
and numerous additions, were made to the membership of the 
church at almost every communion. 

During the incumbency of Dr. Van Pelt, a building was 
erected on the spot now occupied by the brick stores in Port 
Richmond, then the property of the church, with the view of 
establishing a parochial school, under the care of the church. 
The project, however, did not succeed very w;ell ; and, after 
trying two or tluee teachers, it was finally given up. What is 
chiefly interesting in connection with this, is the fact of a Sab- 
bath school being opened in the building as early as 1812, and 
believed to have been among the earliest in this country. 

In 1835, on the fourth Sabbath of August, the present pastor, 
Rev. James Brownlee, was ordained ; and through a kind 
Providence remains to this day. During all these years the 
church has been, on the whole, growing, and has made many 
efforts and some sacrifices to reach its present i^osition, and 
"provide things honest in sight of all men." 

"Soon after my settlement, says Dr. Brownlee, "it was de- 



360 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



termined to repair the old church, which had become much 
dilapidated. This was immediately done, at a cost of over 
$4,000. The next year lots were purchased for a parsonage, 
and a house was ei'ected, the whole costing over §3,000. 

"In 1845 it was found that the church was not large enough 
for those desiring to worship in it, and after much discussion 
as to enlarging the old building or erecting a new one, it 
was finally resolved to build anew. This was accordingly done, 
and the house which is now occupied was built, at a cost of 




•PORT RICHMOND DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH. 

$10,000, and dedicated in February, 1846, the Rev. Dr. De 
Witt, and other clergymen participating in the services. Since 
then the parsonage has been enlarged and beautified at a cost of 
$5,000, and is now one of the most convenient and comfortable 
anywhere to be found. 

"A necessity having long been felt for some additional burying 
ground, that around the church as far as it is available being 
almost completely filled up, about the year 1874 the consistorj- 
jiurchased a piece of ground for a cemetery, most eligibly situ- 
ated, and in one of. the most beautiful spots on the island. 




a /X^t^f^'t-^e^ ^^ 



^sJ'V/r^l-^k^ 



'(.\^*^'\V\l'\^ V. X. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 361 

The consistory felt that this was necessary, as they had no 
proper space to bury their dead, and the time cannot be far dis- 
tant when the increase of population and the demands of 
business may render it necessary, as in so many other places, 
to remove the dead farther from the dwellings of men. 

"During all these years the church has been much favored in 
spiritual things. For a time after my settlement there was a 
most depi'essing state of coldness — almost of lethargy — in the 
church. But we had a band of praying men among us, men of 
faith, who never ceased to j)lead before the mercy seat ; and 
speedily their prayers were heard. Converts began to come in 
in numbers, into our fold ; and from that time to the present, a 
year has never passed, and rarely a communion season, without 
some additions to our membership. In 1838, thirteen were added 
to our list of members, by confession. In the year following, 
sixteen, and so on. God never left himself without a witness 
among us. 

"We also have had our seasons of gracious revival — but reviv- 
al of the right sort; not that which is got up, but that which 
comes down ; which begins to show itself in a silent, prevalent 
earnestness, and diligent attendance on the jirayer-meetings 
and other means of grace. Of that kind was the gracious sea- 
son of 1843-44, when twenty-eight were brought into the 
church ; some of whom are among the most warm-hearted and 
devoted followers of Christ among us to this day. 

" In 1858, there was another very remarkable outpouring of 
the spirit among us. It began as before, silently and without 
any concerted action. 

"The consistory and myself sought rather to guide and reg- 
ulate, than to stimulate it ; while at the same time we could 
not but discern and gratefully recognize the hand of the Lord. 
In April of that year, fifty were received in fellowship at one 
communion; and within the year thirty three more, making 
eighty-three in all. It was a season that stirred the souls of 
God's people to their depths, in joy and praise, and caused 
their Christian graces to shine forth with new and holy lustre. 

" Our Sabbath school has long been prosperous. It has for 
years been under the very best management, without any at- 
tempt at display ; without any efforts or contrivances to 
allure teachers or scholars from quarter's to which courtesy for- 
bade us to apply. We have kept to the steady purpose of 



362 HISTORY OF RrCHMOND COUNTY. 

cultivating the useful and solid, rather than the entertaining. 

" It would be interesting, if space permitted, to give short 
sketches of some of the fathers of the church, who have gone 
to their reward from among us. Allow me very briefly to men- 
tion a few. 

" The first to pass awaj' were Jacob Bodine and Joshua Mer- 
serean, both of Huguenot origin, and both exhibiting the inef- 
faceable traits of their lineage, in the vivacity and energy which 
we usually attribute to the French blood. Air. Bodine was for 
many 5-ears a member of the consistory, and an active and un- 
tiring friend of the church. He and Mr. Mersereau, along with 
Dr. Clark, had the whole burden of remodelling the old church 
to bear, , and of building the parsonage; and amid many diffi- 
culties, chiefly met and surmounted by Mr. Bodine's business 
skill and tact, they succeeded, to the satisfaction of all con- 
cerned. 

"Mr. Mersereau was somewhat reserved in his manner; 
prompt, decided, and resolute. He had the appearance, to 
those who did not know him, of being rather stern; but his 
friends knew him to be of the most kindly and genial disposi- 
tion, when he met them in the quiet family circle. He was a 
man of incorruptible integrity, before whom no one could safely 
venture to commit any mean act. He, too, was a life-long steady 
friend of his church. 

" Then there was Judge Tysen, who had been member of 
congress, and for many years flrst associate judge of the 
county; a most careful and accurate business man, for 
many years the treasurer of the church; always ready, by 
word and deed, to advance the interests of the church; faith- 
ful and liberal in all his ways. To him, along with George Cad- 
mus and myself, was committed the duty of overseeing the build- 
ing of the present church, and on him fell by far the heaviest 
share. He was indefatigable in his attention to the work while 
it was in progress, and professed himself amply rewarded for 
his labor when he saw the building completed — which had a 
much more ci'editable appearance then than it bears to-day, 
among the many new church edifices which have been built all 
around us. He was re-elected to the office of elder again and 
again, as long as he would consent to serve; and when he was 
taken away, in ripe old age, it seemed as if the most prominent 
IDlace in the church was left empty. 



HISTORY OF KiCaiMOND COUNTY. 363 

" There was Aartie Housmau, as he was commonly called. 
His name is entered on the record as Aaron, bnt I think it must; 
have been a mistake for Arthur. Many will remember him as 
he sat under the gallery, with his tall, erect, massive frame, 
and his magnificent head, with flowing white hair, which at once 
attracted the notice of every stranger who entered the pulpit, 
and which might have served as a model for a head of Jupiter. 
He was a man of but limited education, but of strong good 
sense and natural intelligence; who with greater advantages of 
training, could not have failed to distinguish himself. 

" Garrit Martling, for many years an elder and warm friend 
of the church, was a man of few words, but his face beamed 
with the kindliness which tilled his heart; and when any one 
asked a favor of him, he always granted it as if it were con- 
ferred upon himself, delighted with the opportunity of doing a 
kind act. 

" Solomon Zeluff was long an elder. Quiet and reserved in 
manner, but faithful to all that he deemed right; he was a man 
of prayer, and earnestly attached to the doctrines and usages 
of his church. 

" George Cadmns was not a member of the church, but a 
constant and generous friend. Without doubt, he was a true 
Christian for years before his death, although, from unaffected 
humility, he shrank from taking the name openly. Open 
hearted, full of quips and jokes, he was a most attractive com- 
panion and friend, beloved by all who knew him. 

" Paul La Tourette, also long an elder, was of Huguenot ori- 
gin, and showed it in form and manner. A man of prayer and 
faith beyond many, he was strong in the Scriptures. Indeed, 
his Bible was almost his exclusive study. His mind was clear 
and logical, grasping at once the main points of any subject ; 
and although he had not enjoyed many advantages of education 
in early life, there were very few who could hold an argument 
with him successfully on any Scriptural or doctrinal point. He 
was remarkably fluent in prayer ; and so warm were his feelings 
and so much did he become engaged that sometimes he would 
pray for half an hour, or even three-quarters ; and would be 
surprised when his friends told him how long he had been on his 
knees. 

" Time would fail to speak of all whom we lovingly remem- 
ber. But I must mention .Tohn Garretson (Judge Garretson, as 



364 IIISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

he was commonly called), who had also been in congress. His 
name is the first of those subscribed to mj^ call ; and he was the 
first to depart. He and his wife Martha were the oldest mem- 
bers of the church at Richmond, having been received in Dominie 
Jackson's time. He was a devoted Christian, and one of the 
finest specimens of the Christian gentleman ; polished, and even 
courtly in his manners, which his usual dress and appearance 
did not lead one to expect. He was a man of very extensive 
information, and clear, incisive intellect ; and would have 
greatly surprised any stranger who might have taken him for 
nothing more than the plain farmer he appeared to be. His 
household was one of the most delightful I ever knew. It was 
probably the last in the county in which the Dutch language 
was spoken. He and his wife always used it; when alone ; and 
when, at my request, they would speak it, it seemed to lose 
every trace of uncouthness, which those unacquainted with it 
are apt to attribute to it, and to be the very dialect of warm, 
homely, household regard. 

"The judge used to ride to church at Port Richmond every 
Sabbath, for years, till the Richmond church was built, in 1808; 
and, although he lived twelve miles away, there was no more 
regular attendant than he. I remember well his saying, ' I do 
nut know what has come to our young people now ; it takes so 
little to keep them home on a Sabbath day. I have gone for 
years, through all weather, and it never hart me.' And, look- 
ing kindly at his aged companion he added, ' and the Ju/dtouw 
always went with me. It took a storm — mind, I say a storm — 
to keep her home.' 

'' I cherish his memory with grateful affection. He was the 
first to speak words of encouragement to me when I came here, 
without experience in the ministry ; and to predict that there 
was in the young dominie 'something that would wear.' He 
was my kind friend to his dying day." 

Rev. Alfred H. Demarest was called as associate pastor to 
Doctor Brownlee, and was ordained and installed November 6, 
1884. 

The fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Doctor Brownlee 
was celebrated on Sunday, August 23, IBS.'). At that time it 
was said that Mrs. Martha Miller, of Mariners' Harbor, was the 
only person living who was a communicant of the church at the 
time of Doctor Brownlee's installation. Several of the neigh- 




09 















"^it:^ 




^w/k^^tA^^^^ 



CEngrav,.,! rrom n lrac;,.s, ma.l^ bv K. M. Bay les.rrom tlin oiWna 




nnl sketcli^ 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 365 

boring churches suspended services in the morning out of 
respect to this celebi-ation. 

At that time Doctor Brownlee had, during the fifty years of 
his pastorate, baptized eight hundred and thirty-nine children 
and seventy adults ; married six hundred and twenty-four 
couples, attended about six hundred and tifty burials ; received- 
seven hundred and twenty-one persons into the communion of the 
church ; preached four thousand three hundred and sixty-six 
written sermons, and delivered about five thousand extempore 
addresses at evening prayer-meetings, funerals and on other 
occasions. The fact was a remarkable one that he had married 
a couple, not long before, whose parents he had married in 1860, 
and whose grand-parents he had married in 1838. 

The record of baptisms belonging to this early church, and 
covering about half a century from 1696 onward, has been 
transcribed for this work, and will be found in this chapter. 

Accompanying this article will be found a diagram of the 
second edifice of this church which stood at Port Richmond 
about where the present church stands. It was built about 
1714 and destroyed during the revolution. The following ex- 
planations of the diagram of the old church were given by Mr. 
J. J. Clute. 

Translation of the title: " Plan of the Christian Low Dutch 
Church on Staten Island, the 3Uth September, in the year of our 
Lord 1751 , made by Daniel Corsen." 

A. Predikestoel — Pulpit. B. Ouderlingen — Elders. C. Diakenen — Deacons. 
1 Boumeester's Plaats eu Kerkmeester's Plaats — The Master-Builder's Place and 
the Church-Warden's Place. 
3 Plaats voor den Overheidt — Place for the Magistrate. 

3 Nicholas Backer, 33 Johannes Simonson, 

4 Douwe Van Wogelom, The succeeding nine are vacant, 

5 Ernst Lende, Henrik Croesen, 33 Antonie Van Pelt, 

6 Jan Veghte, 34 Jon Roll, Junr., 

7 Jacob Corsen, Cornelis Corsen, 35 Joseae Morseroe, Junr. , 

8 Gerrit Croesen, Abraham Croesen, 36 Cornelius Elles, 

9 Joshua Mersereaux, 37 Vacant, 

10 Gerrit Kroessen, 38 Art Simonson or Simonze, 

11 Gerrit Post, Cors Krock, 39 Richard Merrell, 
13 Pieter De Groot, 40 Jan Roll, 

13 Johannes De Groot, 41 Cornelius sen., 

14 Jan Van Pelt, and another illegible, 43 Isaac Simonze, 

1-1 Joris Prall, 43 Johanne Vanwagena, 

16 Thomas Burbank, 44 Wilhelmus Vreelandt, 

17 Jacob Van Pelt, 45 Cornelius Corsen, 

18 Peter Martlinghe, 46 Christian Corsen, 

19 Cornelius Croesen, 47 Otto Van Tuyl, 

30 Egbert Hagabot, 48 Jacob Corsen, 

31 Robert De Groot, 49 Vacant, 

32 Hendrik ProU, and another erased, 50 Nealtje Hagewout, 



366 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

51 Cornelia Covsen. 64 Elsje Merrill, 

53 Aaltje Van Pelt, 65 Giirtruyde Merrell, 

53 Jail Veglite, 66 Antje Corseii, 

54 Cornelia Veghte, 67 Cornelia Croesen, 

55 Vacant, 68 Gerret Croesen, 

56 Helena Croesen, 69 Simonse, 

57 Elisabet Covsen, Sister Bock, 70 Cornelia 

58 Maria Praal, 71 DeNakomelings van (the descendants 
5y Catrina Berckelo. of) Catharine Hoogelandt, 

60 Sara EUes, 72 Vacant, 

61 Aravaentie Elles, 73 Knelia ricke, 

62 Elizabeth Baker, 74 Magritie Gerrode, 

63 Sara Post, 75 Jannetje Van "Woggeloni, 

64 Belitie De Groot, 76 Maria Beekman, 

65 Elizabeth De Groot, 77 Fermie Van B , 

66 Aeyea Si>eer, 78 Vacant, 

67 Vacant, 79 Fytie Mersereau, 

68 Slaria Mersereau, 80 Lena Van Wagene, 

69 Frausyntje Post, and another erased, 81 Maria PraU, 

60 Marigrita Sitnonze, 83 Annietie fountain, 

61 Marriije Burbank, 83 Wintie Van Tuyls, 
63 Nelicte Vreelandt, 84 Rebecca Staats. 

63 Ainafie Martlinghs, 

It will he observed that the numbers from 60 to 69, both in- 
clusive, are duplicated. It will also be observed that according 
to the universal custom in the olden times, the sexes were sepa- 
rated in their seats. 

Across the ends of 76, 77 and 78 are written the words 
'' Stoelen voor den Predikant " — Chairs for the Preacher. 

This was the second church edifice ; it was built about 1714, 
partially destroyed by fire by the British early in the revolu- 
tion as a rebel church, and what was left standing was subse- 
quently blown down, in a heavy gale. 

The name of Daniel Corsen does not appear among those of 
the pew-holders; but as he was generally the incumbent 
of some civil office, his seat was in No. 1 or 2. He was county 
clei'k at the time he made the diagram. 

Soon after the settlement of Dr. Van Pelt the plan of re- 
building the church at Richmond was revived, and through 
the energetic efforts of the pastor, it was carried successfully 
into execution. The church now standing was built, and ready 
for service in July, 1808, when it was dedicated ; the Rev. Dr. 
Livingston, of New York, conducting the services. From that 
time on Doctor Van Pelt ministered to this church and that at 
the north side until 1835, when Doctor Brownlee, his successor, 
ministered to both until 1853. The connection between the two 
churches was dissolved in 1854, when the church in Richmond 
became a distinct and separate ecclesiastical organization. Its 
first pastor after that event was the Rev. Thomas R. G. Peck, 



HISTORY OF PaCIIMOKD COUNTY. 367 

and liis successors have been Rev. Erskine N. White, Rev. 
Jacob Fehnnann, Rev. J. H. Sinclair, and tlie pulpit was for a 
while supplied alternately with that, of the church of the 
Huguenots, by Rev. Dr. F. M. Kip. This church has a chapel 
at Giflford's. 

The building of a new church was talked of in 1818, and 
Governor Tompkins gave two lots at Tompkinsville, on which 
to erect it. The work was commenced and the corner stone 
laid October 20, 1818. The church was completed, and dedi- 
cated July 23, 1820. Rev. Peter I. Van Pelt of the Port Rich- 
mond church occupied the pulpit till May, 1823, when this 
church became a distinct society and separate charge, its incor- 
poration being eiYected the same year. This enterprise was car- 
ried to completion through the perseverance of Doctor Van Pelt, 
assisted by the munificence of Vice-President Tompkins, who 
donated the land and contributed a large sum of money toward 
building the church. Doctor Van Pelt supplied the pulpit 
until 1823, when, as an independent church, the Rev. John E. 
Miller became its pastor. He wa.s installed October 19, 1823, 
and for nearly- twenty-four years was pastor of the church. He 
died August 24, 1847, and the Rev. Alexander R. Thomjjson 
became the second pastor, in 1848. During his incumbency, 
some of the members withdrew their connection, and organized 
a church at Stajileton, nearer their own residences, with which 
Mr. Tliompson identified himself, after having served this 
church three years and three months. The vacancy thus left 
by him was filled by the Rev. Philip M. Brett, who was in- 
stalled December 24, 1851, and died January 14, 1860. He was 
succeeded by the Rev. Edward ^V. Hitchcock, who was ordained 
and installed August 8, 1860. It was his first pastorate. He 
resigned March 1, 1866. It was during his pastorate that the 
new church edifice was built, on what is known as Brighton 
Heights, on a hill commanding a fine view of the bay. New 
York city and Long Island. The corner stone of this church 
was laid October 27, 1863, and it was dedicated November 3, 
1864. The cost of the church was $14,300. Its site is diagon- 
allj' opposite the northwest corner of the old quarantine 
grounds. 

The old church building was sold, and has since been used 
for a variety of purposes, at times as a feed store, confectionery 
shop, political headquarters and carriage shop, in which use it 



368 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

is still occupied. Some of the older people, as well as the 
former pastors, who have precious memories connected with 
religious work within the ancient edifice, deplore the action 
which consigned the building to such unhallowed uses. It 
may justly be claimed that a respectful regard for the good 
and faithful ones who founded the church, and the pious tnen 
and women who maintained its services during so many years 
of its history, and a wholesome reverence for the cause it re- 
presented, ought to have prompted those who had the manage- 
ment of the matter, to have held the building from the pur- 
poses of secular business, for the possibilities of further use in 
connection with some of the enterprisHS of the church. 

Rev. Herman R. Timlow was installed October 24, 1866, and 
resigned November 1, 1867. Rev. I. Ralston Smith supplied 
the pulpit in 1868. Rev. Thomas G. Watson was installed 
May 13, 1869, and resigned September 11, 1871. Rev. William 
T. Enyard was installed April 13, 1873, and resigned on account 
of ill health, July 13, 1871). He died April 26. 1880. Rev. 
William Walton Clark,thesucceeding pastor was installed March 
16, 1880. During his pastorate, the church was entirely released 
from debt, and a beautiful Sunday school and lecture room 
was built in the rear of the church. The expense of building and 
furnishing the Sunday school and lecture room, and repairing 
and refurnishing the church in 1881, amounted to $9,980.73. 

The Ancient Baptismal Record of the Early Dutch 

Church. 

This book, beginning in 1696, and containing apparently a 
complete record of the baptisms of the early Dutch church on 
Staten Island for a jieriod of more than half a century, is still 
in existence, being now in the keeping of the consistory of the 
Dutch Reformed church at Port Ricmond. This venerable and 
valuable relic several years ago fell into bad company and be- 
came degraded to the level of common garret rubbish. While 
in this condition, and just as it was about to be consigned to a 
bonfire by those who had no knowledge of its value, it was 
rescued from destruction by Mr. Alfred de Groot, who 
promptly placed it in the hands of its proper custodians. Its 
records contain valuable genealogical data touching almost 
every old family of the island and many others. It is written 
in Dutch, and is now considerably defaced by time and wear, 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 369 

and much of it quite difficult to read. Those who would con- 
sult it also find a still greater difiicalty in the utter absence 
of any order in its arrangement, so that to surely find whether 
any desired name is contained in it or not, the whole book 
must be gone through. These obstacles united render the 
record practically a "sealed book," except to those who have 
the ability to read faded Dutch manuscrij)t, and the time and 
patience to search through such a long list to find the names 
they wish to see. Believing that the service of unlocking this 
sealed treasure will be appreciated by those who may have 
occasion to refer to it, we have transcribed the entire list, as 
far as it has any genealogical significance, and have arranged 
the entries all in the alphabetic order of the surnames of the 
fathers. 

The custom prevailed of baptizing children at a very tender 
age. In the early years of the record occasionally the date 
of birth is given together with the date of baptism, as in the 
following entry : 

" Cornelis Tyssen zyne gedoopte Kinderen zyn Dochter 
Elizabeth is gebooren den 1705 28 van May ende heef t 
zynen Doop ontfangen den 2 Augustus De Getuygen 
bennen Leenert Smack de ende Sara Smack." 

In the veiy early records it will be noticed the mother's name 
is not given. In most cases two "getuygen" or witnesses, 
names appear in connection with each baptism, though in some 
only one appears, and in others none at all. 

The record contains many old Dutch words and phrases now 
more or less obsolete, which, through the kindness of Dr. 
Brownlee, who has made tlie book a matter of considerable 
study, we are able to bring together in the following list, with 
their parallel English words or expression. We give the Dutch 
in Roman type, and the corresponding English in italics : 

Onwders—parenis; kinderen— children; getruygen — witness- 
es ; gedoopt — 'baptized; den — the ox then ; de — the; van — of; 
dese — these; zyne — his ov her ; soon, or zoon—5o?i / bennen— 
are; dochter — daughter ; en — and; geborn — horn; met — with; 
gemelle, or tweelings— ^!^o/'«s/ bediening— q^ce, employment or 
service ; heef t — has ; de compeer — god-father ; de -^Qet— god- 
mother; doo\)—ha2)tism; CXmaielycken— Christian; onfangen— 
obtained or received; haar, or haaren— 7ie?- ; vervolgh— co«,^m- 
uation; eene— a or one; yoov— for; op— of; het—the; genaemt 

24 



370 msTOKY OF RICHMO^"D COUNTY. 

— is named ; zie—see; dezer— this ; donderdagli — Thursday; 
dingsday — Tuesday; sonne opgang— 5«»?vse; omtrent — about; 
Heeren — the Lord; naam — name; opgegeven — giten up. 

The book also contains records of later date, of children 
baptized by Rev. William Jackson for the Eefornied Protestant 
Dutch church at the north side of Staten Island, July 9, 1786 to 
October 29 of the same year, 7: in the " new church at the 
North Side," from May 27, 1787 to October 11. 1789, 31: by 
Rev. Peter Stryker, from October 17, 1790 to November 14, 
same year, 9. Mr. Stryker was installed in this church by Mr. 
Livingston, Thursday, November 11, 1790. The record of bap- 
tisms was kept by Mr. A. Ryersz. The fee of one, or some- 
times two shillings, which was sometimes paid, was duh* en- 
tered. The names of ''parents or witnesses" accompany the 
entry of each baptism in that list in such a way as to leave no 
way of distinguishing between the two classes, hence the omis- 
sion of all names on that list. 

The title page bears the following inscription: 

"Register Boek Van De K d Namen Der Kinderen De- 

welck Gedoopt Bennen Op Staten Eylandt Van D Beginne 

Van flet Jaer Anno 1696." 

In the following list, the date of baptism is followed by 
the names of child, father and mother, in the order mentioned. 

Oct. 8, 1721, Hilletje, Gozen .\driaannsz, Femmetje vand'rBilt. 

May 17, 1724, Leah, Jan Andrevet, Leah Sweem. 

Apr. 7, 1729, Jan, Jan Andrevet, Leah Sweera. 

Aug. 26, 1722, Neehje, Jan Andrevet, Leah Sweem. 

Mar. 27, 1720, Rebecca, Pieter Andrevet, Rebecca Cole. 

Dec. 25, 1723. Elisabet, Pieter .\ndrevet, Rebecca Cole. 

Jan. I, 1726, Elisabet and Anna, twins, Pieter Andrevet, Rebecca Cole. 

Mar. 25, 1 701, Andrys, Andrys .\ndryssen. 

1707. Lontys, Joseph Bastido. 

July, 3, 1707, Rossanna, Joseph Bastido. 

July, 26, 1711, Bastido, Joseph Bastido. 

May 4, 1714 Jan, Joseph Bastido. 

Jan. 18, 1717, maria, Joseph Bastido. 

Oct. 18, 1719, Pieter, Joseph Bastido, Judith Ryke. 

Apr. 22, 1707, Tryntie, Nicolaas Backer. 

Oct. 31, 1756, Jacob, Niclos Backer, Liesabet toret. 

Feb. 26, 1758, Mary, Niclos Backer, Liesabet Latoret. 

Oct. 21, 1707, Nicolaas, Hendricus Backer. 

Aug. 24, 1729, Catharina, Jacobus Bakker, Rebecca Staats. 

Jan. 30, 1734, Nicolaas, Jacobus Bakker, Rebeeca Staats. 

Mar. 28, 1736, Geertje, Jan Barbank, Leah Hagewout. 

Dec. 8, 1728, Thomas, Jan Barbank, Leah Hagewout. 

Mar. 28, 1736, Maria, Lucas Barbank, Martha Baile. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTT. 371 

Jan. 16, 1732, Maria, Jan Barbank, Lea Hagewout. 
Apr. 13, 1742, Catharina, Lucas Barrabank, Martha Eaely. 
Oct. II, 1719, Maria, Thomas Barbanck, Marritje Martling. 
Sep. 22, 1723, Abraham, Pieter Barbarie, Elisabet du Secoy. 
Jan. I, 1729, Cornelia, Jacob Bergen, Maria Croesen. 
Sep. 23, 1731, Jacob, Jacob Bergen, Maria Croesen. 
May 6, 1745, Grietje, Jacob Bergen, Grietje Bennet. 
June 10, 1747, Gerretye, Jacb bergen, Margrietye bennet. 
May 3, 1749, adriaen, Jacob Bergen, maragreta Bennet. 
Sept. 4, 1737, Cornelia, Jacob Bergen, Maria Croesen. 
Apr. 29, 1722, Gerritje, Fredrik Bergen. Gerritje Veghte. 
Sept. 26. 1725, Henrik, Frederik Bergen, Gerritje Veghte. 
Mar. 12, 1732, Elsje, Fredrik Bergen, Gerritje Veghte. 
May 21, 1727, Elisabet, Jacob Bennet, EHsabet Brouwer. 
May 26, 1729, Willem, Jacob Bennet, Elisabet Brouwer. 
Dec. 20, 1724, Juriaan, Jacob Bennet, Elizabet Brouwer. 
Sept. 24, 1732, Cornelius, Jacob Bennet, Elisabet Brouwer. 
Oct. 28, 1722, Aaltje, Jacob Bennet, Elizabet Brouwer. 
Apr. 22, 1707, Aeltie, Thomas Berbanck. 
Nov. 2, 1754, Cattriena, Abraham Beckelo, Cattriena Ebis. 

July 28, , Gerret, Berkelo, EUes, 

Oct. 13, 1747, Cornelius, Abraham berkelau, catrina Ellis. 
Oct. 19, 1708, Daniel, Issac Bellin. 
Mar. 14, 172^^, Maria, Jacobus Biebaut, Maria Sweem. 
May 5, 1729, Petrus, Jacobus Biebant, marytje Sweem. 
Feb. 19, 1727, Elisabet, Jacubus Biebant, ^Laria Sweem. 
July 16, 1721, Jacobus, jacobus Biebant, Maria Sweems. 
Nov. 2, 1718, Isaak, Teunis Bogaart, Catharina Hegeman. 
Dec. 18, 1720, Adriaan, Teunis Bogaart, Catharina Hegeman. 

1722, Margareta, Simon Bogaart, Margrietje Ten Eyk. 
1729, Gysbert, Simon Bogaart, Margrietje ten Eyk. 
1719. Elisabet, Simon Bogaart, Margrietje ten Eik. 
1726, Simon, Simon Bogaart, Margrietje Ten Eyk. 

1723, Abraham, Teunis Bogaart, Catharina Hegeman. 
Mar. 28, 1725, Maria, Teunis Bogaart, Catharina Hegeman. 
Mar. 2, 1729, Cornelius, Teunis Bogaart, Catharina Hegeman. 
Feb. 13, 1732, Sarah, Simon Bogaart, Margrietje Ten Eyk. 
Nov. 29, 1719, Jean, Francois Bodin, Maria Dey. 

Nov. 3, 1754, Eliesebeth, Nettenel Bos, Jannetye Post. 
Sept. 17, 1758, Gerret, Nettenel bos, Jannetye Post. 

1706, Samuel, Josua Bosch. 

May 6, 1745, .'Vntje, Nicklas Bos, Elisabet Drenkwater. 

Sept. 8, 1734, Barent, Nicolaas Bosch, Elisabet Drinkwater. 

Nov. 21, 1 73 1, Margareta, Nicolaas Bosch, Elisabet Drinkwater. 

July 13, 1740, Nicolaas, Nicolaas Bosch, Elisabet Drinkwater. 

Nov. 24, 1728, Eduard, Nicolaas Bosch, Elisabet Drenkwater. 

Dec. II, 1737, Samuel, Louis du Bois Jun'r, Catharina van Brunt. 

Apr. 22, 1718, Anna, James Hosier, Sara Pereine. 

Apr. I, 1728, Forms, Andries Bowman. 

Mar. 20, 1716, Andries, Andries Bowman. 

May 6, 1745, aeltje, Cornelus Bowman, Aeltje Titus. 

Apr. 19, 1715, Neeltje, Cornells Bouwman. 



Dec. 


30. 


Jan. 


19- 


Oct. 


18, 


May 


19. 


Apr. 


21, 



372 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Sept. 14, 1742, Neeltje, Jacob bowman, Maria Williams. 

Jan. 16, 1732, Harmen, Pieter Bouwman, Elsje van Pelt. 

Sept. 14, 1742, Neeltje, pieter bowman, Elsje Van pelt. 

Apr. 23, 1739, Pieter, Pieter Bouwman, Elsje van Pelt. 

July 24, 17 10, Joris, Harmen Bowman. 

Oct. 23, 171 1, Tryntie, Harmen Bowman. 

May 4, 1 7 14, Jacob, Harmen Bowman. 

June 15, 1716, Cornelis, Harmen Bowman, Neeltje Staats. 

May 15, 1720, Neeltje, Cornelis Bouwman, Antje Staats. 

Apr. 22, 1707, Elisabeth, Jores Bowman. 

Sept. 22, 1709, Johanna, Jores Bowman. 

Feb. 12, 1758, Catriena, Antony brat, neety haagewout. 

July 20, 1718, Cornelis, Cornelis Brees, Sara Schilmans. 

Aug. 18, 1741, Jan, Johanes Brestede, Trintie Hagewout. 

Aug. 16, 1743, Pieter, Johannes Brestede, Treintje hagewout. 

Apr. 22, 1746, Eckbert, Johannes brestede, Catherina hagewouyt. 

1 715, Johannes, VVillem breetstede. 

1715. Andries. Willem breetstede. 

Jan. 18, 1719, Andries, Willem Breetstede, Christina Bouwman. 
Aug. 13, 1721, Engeltje, Willem Breetstede, Christina Bouwman. 
Sept. 9, 1722, Henrik, Henrik Bries, Dina du Cecoy. 
Jan. 31, 1725, Sara, Henrik Bries, Dina du Secoy. 
Apr. 9, 1732, Sara, Nathanael Britton, Esther Billeville. 
Apr. 23, 1707, Jeams, Joseph Britten. 
Oct. II, 1708, William, Nicolaes Britten. 
Apr. 20, 1740, Maria, John Brown, Susanne Roseau. 
Aug. 16, 1743, Jan, Jan burbanck, Leea hagewout. 
Apr. 22, 1746, Abraham, John burbanck. Lea hagewout. 
Feb. 23, 1724. Nathan, Elias Burger, Susanna Whitman. 
Oct. 19, 1 7 18, Samuel, Samuel Burnet, Obiit, Antje Mangels Ral. 
June 8, 1735, Sara, James Butler, Sara Parain. 
Apr. 9, 1732, Jan, James Butler, Sara Parem. 
Nov. 18, 1733, Andries, Dirk Cadmus, Jannetje van Hoorn. 
Oct. 31, 1731, Cathrina, Dirk Cadmus, Jannetje van Hoorn. 
July 19, 1724, Rutgers, Dirk Cadmus, Jannetje van Hoorn. 
Dec. II, 1720, Frederyk, Dirk Cadmus, Jannetye van Hoorn. 
Apr. 22, 1746, Elizabeth, Jan Cahon, maria Egberts. 
Aug. 26, 1739, Catharina, Jean Canon, Maria Egberts. 
July 19, 1748, Jacobus, John Canone, Maria Egberts. 
Oct. 22, 1707, Margriete, Beniamin Carenton. 
June 6, 1715, Jannetie, Joseph Carrinton. 
Nov. 29, 1719, Philip, Philip Casier, Catharina Hooglant. 
Aug. 28, 1726, Casparus, Jsak Caspers, Elisabet Lisk. 
Jan. 21, 1739, Cornelia and Antje, twins, Johannes Cavelier, Catlyntje 
Andriessen. 

April 10, 1726, Jacobus, Phillippe Cazier, Catharina Hooghlant. 
Mar. 15, 1724, Dirk, Philip Cazier, Catharina Hooghlant. 
Jan. 14, 1722, Catharina, Philip Cazier, Catharina Hooglant. 
Aug. 23, 1730, Petrus, Phillipe Cazier, Catharina Hooghlant. 
Sept. 14, 1718, Elsje, Pieter Cielo, Blandina van Pelt. 
Oct. 14, 1722, Peter, Pieter Ceilo, Blandina van Pelt. 
June 6, 1725, Cornelia, Peter Ceilo, Blandina van Pelt. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUXTY. 373 

July 9, 1727, Sara, Pieter Ceilo, Blandina van Pelt. 

Jan. 12, 1729, Daniel, Pieter Ceilo, Blandina van Pelt. 

Mar. 14, 1731, Wilhelmus, Pieter Ceilo, Blandina van Pelt. 

Nov. 16, 1735, Johannes and Maria, twins, Peter Ceilo, Blandina van 
Pelt. 

Aug. 4, 1703, Niclaes, Barent Christoffelzen. 

Apr. 23, 1706, Catharyna, Barent Christoffelzen. 

Apr. 20, 17 — , Rebecka, Barent Christoffelzen. 

1710, Maria, Barent Christoffelzen. 

Aug. 13, 1716, ane catryn and Barent, Barent Christofer. 

Jan. II, 1 7 19, Susanna, Barent Christopher, Anna Cathrina Stihvel. 

Nov. 27, 1726, Barent, Nicolaas Christpher, Christin.i Bowman. 

Sept. 26, i73i, Anna Catharina, Nicolaas Christopher, Christina Bouvv- 
man. 

Apr. 16, 1732, Johannes, Hans Christopher, Jane Arrowsmith. 

Apr. 14, 1734, Barent, Hans Christopher, Tane Arrowsmith. 

Aug. 8, 1736, Joseph, Hans Christopher. Jane Arrowsmith. 

Sept. 30, 1739, Richard, Hans Christopher, Jane arrowsmith. 

Oct. 22, 1701, Femmetye, Derek Claassen. 

Apr. 20, 1703, Hendrickie, Derek Claassen. 

Apr. 23, 1706, Jacobus, Derek Claassen. 

June 8, 1718, Francyntje, Jan Claatz, Maria de Chene. 

Apr. 22, 1707, Ferametie, Cobus Claazen. 

Aug. 30, 1743, Maria, Walter Clendenne, pieternel Olfer. 

May 6, 1745, Johannes, Walter Clendenne, Nieltje ollifer. 

Apr. 22, 1747, Jacob, waiter clendenne, peternella Oliver. 

Sept. 17, 1748, Cathilyna, Walter Clendenne, Piternela Oliver. 

May II, 1735, Patience, adam Clendenny, Eva Johnson. 

Oct. 31, 1756, Jeams, Jeanis Clendeny, rabecke Jonson. 

June 24, 1759, Antye, Walter Cleninne, nelli alever. 

Oct. 21, 1707, Dorote, Jan Clerck. 

Apr. 19, 1709, Dorothea, Jan Clerck. 

Apr. 17, 1711, Jan, Jan Clerck. 

July 14, 1 7 13, Sara, Jan Clerck. 

July 14, 1 7 13, Rachel, Clindinne. 

July 28, , Walteris, Clindinne, nelli alver. 

May I, 1753, Pieternelle, waiter Clindinne, Pieternelle alver. 

Feb. 16, 175s, Joseph, Walter Clindinne, nelli allever. 

Mar. 13, 1720, Abraham, Jan Cochean, Elisabet Jackson. 

Apr. 18, 1725, Femmetje, Teunis Coevert, Femmetje vander Schure. 

Oct. 5, 1766, willim, Andru Colter, Mary Clendenny. 

Aug. 26, 1759, Andries, David Cornon, Aaltye Praal. 

Nov. 2, 1754, Aront, Davit Cornon, Aaltye Praal. 

Jan. 29, 1756, Davit, Davit Cornon, Aaltye Praal. 

Aug. 26, 1759, Danal, Peatar Cornon, Mally Stebs. 

May 4, 17 14, Cornells, Beniamin Corsen. 

Aug. 13, 1716, Maria, Benjamen Corssen. 

Aug. 3, 1718, Benyamin, Benyamin Corsen, Blandina Vile. 

Nov. 24, 1723, Maria, Cornelius Corssen, Jannetje Boskerk. 

Aug. 13, 1725, Pieter, Cornelius Corssen, Jannetje Boskerk. 

Feb. 26, 1727, Christiaan, Cornelius Corssen, Jannetje Boskerk. 

Feb. 23, 1728, Cornelius, Cornells Corssen, Jannetje van Boskerk. 



374 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Feb. 21, 1731, Cornelius, Cornells Crossen, Jannetje van Boskerk. 

Oct. 10, 1731, Henrik, Cornells Croesen, Helena van Tuyl. 

Oct. 22, 1732, Jacobus, Cornelius Corssen, Jannetje van Boskerk. 

Sept. 19, 1736, Catharlna, Cornelius Corssen, Jannetje van Boskerk. 

Mar. 25, 1701, Suster, Jacob Corssen. 

Oct. 21, 1707, Jacob, Jacob Corssen. 

Apr. I, 1718, Beniamyn, Jacob Corssen. 

Apr. 18, 1743, Cornelia, Jacob Corsen, Cornelia Croesen. 

Dec. 23, 1739, Maria, Jacob Corssen Junior, Cornelia Croesen. 

Oct. 13, 1747, Jacob, Jacob Corsen Jun'r, cornelia kroese. 

Aug. 25, 1751, Neelty, Jacob Corsen Juner, Cornelia Croesen. 

Nov. 7, 1753, Richard, Daniel Corsen, Maria Stilwell. 

Nov. 7, 1753, Daniel, Daniel Corsen, Maria Stilwell. 

Sept. 17, 1758, Cornelius, Daniel Corsen, Llesebeth bogert. 

Oct. 5, 1755, ragel, Douwe Corson, Janntye Conein. 

Nov. 4, 1722, Pleter, Jaques Coteleau, Jacomyntje van Pelt. 

Dec. 26, 1720, Debora, Jaques Coteleau, Jacomyntje van Pelt. 

May 29, 1726, Neeltje, Jaques Coteleau, Jacomyntje van Pelt. 

Nov. 21, 1731, Maria, Samuel Couwenhoven. Sara Drinkwater. 

Apr. 3, 1720, Anna, Jacobus Craven, Antje Iniaart. 

Dec. 23, 1722, Christina, Jacobus Craven, Antje Iniaart. 

Sept. 26, 1725, Esther, Jacobus Craven, Antje Iniaart. 

Apr. 22, 1707, Elsie, Cobus Creven. 

July 27, 1714, Johannes, Cobus Creven. 

Apr. 1, 1718, Gillis, Cobus Creven. 

Mar. 30, 1740, Abraham, Daniel Crocheron, Maria du Puy. 

Dec. 8, 1723, Henrik, Gerrlt Croesen, Henriks Zoon, Geestruyd van 
Tuyl. 

Sept. 13, 1728, Femmetje, Gerrlt Croesen, Henriks zoon, Geertruyd 
van Tuyl. 

Aug. 6, 1732, Abraham, Gerrlt Oroesen, Henriks zoon, Geerttuyd van 
Tuyl.' 

Aug. 27, 1740, Cornelia, Gerrlt Croesen, Claasje Brlnkerhof. 

Apr. 18, 1743, Maria, Gerret Croesen, Claesje Blenkerhof. 

June 24, 1752, Hendrlck, Gerret Croesen, Claesye Blinckerhof. 

July 29, 1733, Abraham, Cornells Croesen, Helena van Tuyl. 

Mar. 9, 1735, Daniel, Cornelius Corssen, Jannetje van Boskerk. 

Aug. 8, 1736, Cornelius, Cornells Croesen, Helena van Tuyl. 

July 14, 1 7 13, Elisabeth, Jan Crosson. 

Oct. 5, 1760, Marya, Charsels daecr, maccy maral. 

Aug. 26, 1759, Andro, Sammual Danges, Jenny ryt. 

Feb. 7, 1720, Samuel, Henry Day, Maria van Pelt. 

June 7, 1724, Petrus, Henry Day, Maria van Pelt. 

May 30, 1726, Maria, Heny Day, Moria van Pelt. 

Aug. II, 1728, Simon, Henry Day, Maria van Pelt. 

Feb. 15, 1730, AVilliam, John Day, Anne More. 

Oct. 31, 1736, Johannes, John Day. Hanna More. 

June 7, 1719, l-aurens, Gideon de Camp, Hendrikje Elles. 

Aug. 30, 1724, Bastiaan, Gideon de Camp, Hendrikje Elles 

Oct. 15, 1727, Gideon, Gideon de Camp, Henrikje Elles. 

Aug. 2, 1 7 19, David, Hendrlk de Camp. Maria La mes. 

May 21, 1721, Gideon, Hendrlk de Camp, Maria La mes. 



HISTORY OF lilCHMOND COUA'TY. 375 

Feb. 13, 1726, Christoffcl, Hendrik, de Camp, Maria La Mes. 
Feb. 6, 1728, Charles, Charles Dekker, Lena Sweem. 
Apr. 5, 1730, Matthys, Charles Dekker, Lena Sweem. 
Oct. 29, 1732, JVIagdalena, Charles Dekker, Lena Sweem. 
Mar. 16, 1735, Mattheus, Charles Dekker, Lena Sweem. 
Jan. 8, 1738, Esther, Charles Dekker, Lena Sweem. 
May 7, 1741, Eva, Charles Decker, Helena Sweam. 
July 28, 1 75 1, marya, Charlis Deckker, helena Sweem. 
July 3, 1726, Maria, Johannes Dekker, Maria Sweem. 
Apr. 21, 1728, Sarah, Johannes Dekker, Maria Sweem. 
Apr. 19, 1743, Johannes, Johannes Decker, nence Merrel. 
Apr. 26, 1748, Richard, John Decker, Anna Merrell. 
Apr. 22, 1747 Elstye, mattheus decker, Elstye Merrill. 
Sept. 7, 169-, Johannes, Mattheus De Decker. 
Oct. 21, 1707, Abraham, Mattheus De Decker. 
Apr. 17, 171 1, Elisabeth, Matthtus De Decker. 

, 1715, Mattheus, Mattheus De Decker. 

July 27, 1755, Cattriena, Pieter Degroot, Claartye Post. 

July 25, 1758, Geertruy, Pieter Degroot, Claartye Post. 

Aug. 6, 1745, Verelije, B.dtes Dehart, Maria Phillipel. 

Sept. 17, 1746, catalyna, b.iltus dehart, mary phillipse, 

May 20, 1750, Samuel. Samu-l Dehart, Abigael Jones. 

Sept. 21, 1718, Maria, Pieter Dekker, Susanna Hetfeel. 

July 24, 1720, Johannes, Pieter Dekker, Susanna Hetfeel, 

May 24, 1724, Susanna, Pieter Dekker, Susanna Hetfeel. 

Oct. 23, 1726. Sara, Pieter Dekker, Susanna Hetfeel. 

June 10, 1728, Mattheus, Pieter Dekker, Susanna Hetfeel. 

Mar. 26, 1732, Eva, Pieter Dekker, Susanna Hetfeele. 

Api"- 7i '735. Abraham, Pieter Dekker, Susanna Hetfield. 

May 7, 1741, Jacob, Peter Decker, Susane HelfeuU. 

Apr. 5, 1730, Eva, Seger Dekker, Elisabet du puy. 

Apr. 8, 1733, Eva, Zeger Dekker, Susanna Jones. 

May 24, 1730, Matthys, Johannes Dekker, Maria Sweem. 

Mar. 25, 1739, Eva, Joh; Dekkers, Marytje Sweem. 

Apr. r3, 1742, Johannes, barend de pu, Elsje Peljoung. 

Oct. 13, 1747, Elizabeth, barent depuy, Elsye poilyon. 

Nov. 3, 1754, Johannis, Barent depue, Elsye Puelyon. 

Oct. 21, 1707, Lambert, Jan Dorlandt. 

Apr. 17, 171 1, Joris, Jan Dorlandt. 

Apr. 17, 17 t7, Isack, Jan dorlandt. 

Apr. 3, 1720, Harmpje and Eva, twins, Jan Dorlant, Barbara Aukes. 

Aug. 29, 1725, Abraham, Jan Dorlant, Barbara Aukes. 

Oct. 26 1729, Anthony, Cornelis Dorlant, Saartje van Pelt. 

Jan. 17, 1754, Marin, Thomas Doghety, Sara Van Naame. 

June 3, 1739, Margrietje, Pierre Drageau, Elisabet Gewan. 

Oct. 9, 1720, Cornelius, Michiel du Chene, Susanno vandr Hoven. 

May 21, 1 7 16, Valentyen, Machayel Due Seen. 

May 20, 1750, Martha, Barent Dupue, Elsye Puilyon. 

Apr. 6, 1734, Catharina, Nicolaas du puy, Neeltje Dekker. 

Nov. 7, 1749, Benyamen, Jacus Ecbers, Catharina Backer. 

June 6, 1715, Abraham, Abraham Egbertsen. 

Apr. 10, 1720, Johannes, Abraham Egbertsen, Francyntje Parain. 



376 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COITNTY. 

Jan. 17, 1722, Elisabet, Abraham Egbertsen, Francyntje Parain. 

Apr. 17, 1744, Elisabet, Abram Egbertse, Elisabet Gerresen. 

July 28, 1751, Hester, Abraham Egbertse, Elizabet Gerrelse. 

July 13, 1713, Abraham, Egbert Egbertsen. 

Apr. 10, 1720, Isaak, Egbert Egbertse, Francyntje de Chene. 

May, 20, 1722, Johannes, Egbert Egbertszen, Francyntje du Chene. 

Feb. 14, 1720, Maria, Jacodus Egbertsen, Catharina Dey. 

Oct. 8, 1 72 1, Teunis, Jacobus Egbertsen, Catharina Dey. 

July, 14, 1723, Johannes, Jacobus Egbertzen, Catharina Deuy. 

Mar. 24, 1724-5, Laurens, Jaqnes Egbertszen, Catharina Deuy. 

Mar. 23, 1729, Nicolaas, Jaques Egbertszen, Catharina Bakker. 

June, 7, 1731, Piecer, Jaques Egbertszen, Catharina Bakker. 

Nov. 4, 1733, Susanna, Jaques Egbertsz, Catharina Bakker. 

Apr. 18, 1736, Abraham, Jaques Egbertsen, Catharina Bakker. 

Aug. 20, 173S, Elisabet, Jaques Egbertzen, Catharina Bakker. 

Oct. II, 1743, Catrina, Jacus Egberts, trintje Backer. 

Apr. 22, 1747, Antye, Jacus Egberts, Catrina backers. 

Aug. 10, 1718, Teunis, Teunis Egbertsen, Jannetje Chesne. 

Dec. 12, 1745, Johines, Teunes Egbertse, Peternel Depey. 

Oct. 13, 1747, abrahem, tunes Egbertse, Peternella depuy. 

Nov. 7, 1749, Barent, teunis Egbertsen, Pieternelle depu. 

Apr. I, 1 7 18, Altje, Cornells Egmont. 

Apr. 30, 172 1, Fenimetje, Cornelis Egmont, Elsje de Camp. 

July, 21, 1723, Zeger, Cornelis Egmont, Elsje de Camp. 

Jan. 2, 1726, Christoffel, Cornelius Egmont, Elsje de Camp. 

May, 7, 1719, Johannes, Charles Ellens, Marytje de Camp. 

Aug. 30, 1724, Catharina, Bastiaan EUes, Sara Neesjes. 

Nov. 7, 1725, Cornelius, Bastiaan Elles, Sara Neesjes. 

Oct. I, 1727. Hagtje, Bastiaan Elles, Sara Neesjes. 

Jan. 31, 1730, Sara, Bastiaan Elles, Sara Neesjes. 

Apr. 22, 1746, Maria, basteyaen Elles, Sara neefyes. 

Aug. 26, 1759, Saara, Cornelius ellis, Leena vanderbilt. 

Apr. 17, 1744, Antje, Wellim Elsewart, Babecca Stilwel. 

Apr. 17, 1744, Mareitje, Wellim Elsewart. 

Apr. 18, 1743, Elisabet, Mathies Enjard, Elisabet Gerreson. 

July, 28, 1728, Esther, Andre Escord, Catline Richand. 

Jon. 4, 1730, Maria, Andre Escord, Catline Richaud. 

Oct. 18, 1 7 15, Susan, tunes E.xberson. 

May, 4, 1 7 14, Hieronimus, Stieven Feteto. 

Feb. 8, 1769, Daniel, hanry fiaban, eghije vanwinkel. 

May, II, 1729, Antje, Anthony Fountain, Belitje Byvank. 

Nov. 20, 1754, Johannis, Antoni founten, Anaatye gerretson. 

Nov. 3, 1754, Antoni, Antoni founten, Anaatye Gerretson. 

Mar. — , 1756, Maragrietye, Antoni founen, Anaatye Gerretson. 

Dec. 23, 1759, Cornelus, Antony founten, Annaetye Gerritson. 

Feb. 17, 1723, Usselton, Robert Frost, Sara Usselton. 

Mar. 21, 1731. Christopher, Isaac Garritzen, Maria Christopher. 

June 12, 1726, Metje, Jacob Gammaux, Dirkje van Tilburgh. 

June 27, 1736, Daniel, Cornelis Gerritzen, Aaltje van Winkel. 

Apr. 12, 1719, Charles, Charles Gerritsz. 

Nov. 4, 1759, Neeltye, Christeyaan Gerrebrans, Marya Post. 

Nov. 4, 1759, Maragrietye, Johannis Gerritson, Marritye demot. 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 377 

May 5, 1696, Daniel, Lambert Gerritzen. 

July 14, 1 7 13, Lambert, Lambert Gerritzen. 

Mar. I, 1719, Magdalena, Lambert Gerritysz Junior, Lysbet Swvveera. 

July 2, 1721, Nicolaas, Lambert Gerritz Junior, Lysbet Sweem. 

Aug. 25, 1723, Abraham, Lambert Gerritzen Jun'r, Lysbet Sweem. 

May 24, 1730, Elisabet, Lambert Gerretzen, Lysbet Sweem. 

May 26, 1729, Elisabet, Frans Gerbrantsz, Neeltje Corssen. 

Apr. 19, 1743, France, Frances Gerrebrats, Nieltje Cossen. 

Sept. 17, 1746, Daniel, frans Gerrtbratse, neeltye corsen. 

June 26, 1726, Nicolaas, Nicolaas Gerritson, Christina v. Woggelum. 

Jan. 28, 1728, Susanna, Nicolaas Gerritsen, Christina V. Woggelum. 

Sept. 14, 1729, Jan, Nicolaas Gerritzon, Christina van Woggelum. 

Aug. 13, 1732, Lambert, Nicolaas gerritzen, Christina van Woggelum. 

Aug. 12, 1738, Zeger, Nicolaas Gerritzen, Christina van Woggelum. 

June 15, 1740, Blandina, Nicolaas Gerritzen, Christina v. Woggelum. 

, 1742, Zeger, nicklaes Gerresen, Crestina Van Woglom. 

Sept. 18, 1744, Abraham, Nicolaes Gerresen, Cristina Van Wogelom. 
June 3, 1734, Marytje, John Gold, Antje Wynants. 
Oct. 5, 1735, Jan, John Gold, Antje Wynants. 
Aug. 13, 1716, Johannes, Jacob Gramo. 

Oct. 26, 1718, Catharina, Jacob Grameaux, Dirkje van Tilburgh. 
Aug. 6, 1721, Anna Catharina, Jacob de Garemeaux, Dirkje van Til- 
burgh. 

Nov. 24, 1723, Matthys, Jacob de grammeaux, Derkje van Tilburgh. 

May 26, 1728, Agneta, Jacob de Gramo, Dirkje van Tilburgh. 

Dec. 25, 1731, Jacob, Jacob de Gramo, Dirkje van Tilburgh. 

Apr. 15, 1734, Dirkje, Jacob ke Gramo, Dirkje van Tilburgh. 

Oct. 18, 1 7 19, Martinus, Thomas Greegs, Lena du Puy. 

May 7, 1721, Preternelle, Thomas Greegs, Lena du Puy. 

May 20, 1722, Anna, Thomas Greegs, Lena du Puy. 

Apr. 19, 1724, John, Thomas Greegs, Lena du Puy. 

Dec. 12, 1725, Maria, Thomas Greegs, Lena du Puy. 

Sept. 15, 1723, Isaak, Abraham Gray, Ariaantje Aarisen. 

Apr. II, 1731, Pieter, Jeah Grondin, Marguerite du Bois. 

Oct. 10, 1731, Robbert, Johannes de Groot, Elisabet Sikkels. 

Feb. I, 1736, Johannes, Johannes de Groot, Elisabet Sikkel. 

July 30, 1750, Elizabeth, Pieter D Grood, Claertye Post. 

Aug. 25, 1751, Gerret, Pieter D Grood, Claerty Post. 

May I, 1753, Johannes, Pieter D Grood, Claertye Post. 

Apr. 20, 1729, Susanna, Louis Guineau, Anna Cisenu. 

Nov. 5, 1738, Esther, Elisec GuUedet, Magdelaine Gendron. 

May 4, 1 7 14, Derckie, Egbert Hagewout. 

Mar. 8, 1772, Danniel, egbert haugvvout, elener garebrantz. 

Oct. 16, 1720, Aaltje, Jan Hagewout, Elisabet Hooghlant. 

Apr. I, 1718, pieter, pieter hagewont. 

Dec. 26, 1719, Nicolaas, Pieter Hagewout, Neeltje Bakkers. 

Feb. 25, 1722, Dirkje, Pieter Hagewout, Neeltje Bakkers. 

Oct. 16, 1726, Egbert, Pieter Hagewout, Neeltje Bakkers. 

Dec. 22, 1728, Neeltje, Pieter Hagewout, Neeltje Bakkers. 

Mar. 14, 1731, Jacobus, Pieter Hagewout, Neeltje Bakker. 

Jan. 13, 1734, Geertruyd, Pieter Hagewout, Neeltje Bakker. 

Oct. 3, 1736, Margreta, Pieter Hagewout, Neeltje Bakker. 



378 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

July 28, 175 I, neeltye, Pieter Hagewout, aeltye Bennet. 

June 24, 1752, Pieter, Pieter Hagewout, aeltye bennet. 

May I, 1753, Annaetye, Peter Hagewout, aeltye Bennet. 

July 27, 175s. Gryetye, Pieter Hagewout, Altye Bennet. 

Mar. 12, 1758, Necclos, Pieter liaagewout. Altye bennet. 

Apr. 20, 1760, wynant, Peter Haagewout, .^altye bennit, 

Sept. 28, 1735, Isaak, Symon Hanszen of Symons, Helena Sweem. 

Aug. 18, 1728, Jacob, Benvamin Haste, Jannesje Johannis. 

Mar. 29, 1730, Johannes, Benyamin Haste, Jannesje Johannis. 

Mar. 19, 1731-2, Benjamin, Benjamin Haste, Jannetje Johannis. 

Aug. 6, 1 72 1, Jacob, Jonannes Hasten, Marytje Johannesz. 

Mar. 21, 1724-5, Johannes, Johannes Hasten, Marytje Johannetz. 

Oct. 22, 1707, Daniel, Daniel de Hart. 

Apr. 17, 1711, Saartie, Daniel de Hart. 

i7i5> Matthys, Daniel de Hart. 

Apr. 19, 1715, Elisabeth, Daniel de Hart. 
Aug. — 1717, Sameuel, Daniel de hart. 

1700, Elisabeth, Ryck Hendrickzen. 

1700, femmetye, Ryck Hendrickzen. 

1700, Marytie, Ryck Hendrickzen. 

May 22, 1718, Symon, Ryk Hendriksz, Ledy Henriks. 

May 22, 1718, Jan, Ryk Hendriksz, Ledy Henriks. 

Feb. 26, 1727, Catharina, Johan Henrick Packer, Anna Maria Juger. 

Jan. 7, 1722, Sara, Jaques Hervan, Charite Bries. 

May 17, 1724, Cornelis, Jaques Hervan, Geertje Bries. 

Sept. 3, 1721, Jenneke, Dirk Hogelant, Maria Slot. 

Apr. 26, 1748, Cornelia, Christo|5hel Hoogelandt, Jannetye Veghten. 

May 5, 1696, Marytie, Jores Hoogelandt. 

Apr. 6, 1735, Rachel, Clement Hooper, Mary Stilwell. 

May 26, 1723, Joseph, obadias Holmes, Susanna du Puy. 

May 30, 1725, Susanna, obadias Holmes, Susanna du Puy. 

June 18, 1727, Johannes, Obadias Holmes, Susanna du Puy. 

Oct. II, 1743, Elisabet, Johannes huisman, Weintje Seimesen. 

Oct. 6, 1765, baarent, Johannes Huisman, Antye Merling. 

Oct. 31, 1756, Mary Miglen, Matteus hus, Attrena hus. 

Nov. 23, 1718, Anna, Johannes Huysman, Christina Hoppe. 

Jan. 15, 1721, Rachel, Johannes Huysman, Christina Hoppe. 

Sept. 4, 1726, Anna, Johannes Huysman, Wyntje Symons. 

May 26, 1728, Pieter, Johannes Huysman, Wyntje Symons. 

Feb. 15, 1730, Aarz, Johannes Huysman, Wyntje Simons. 

Jan. I, 1732, Margareta, Johannes Huysman, Wyntje Sym(ms. 

Jan. 13, 1734, Johannes, Johannes Huysman, Wyntje Symons. 

Feb. 29, 1736, Dirk, Johannes Huysman, Wyntje Symons. 

Dec. 9, 1739, Abraham, Johannes Huysman, Wyntje Symons. 

July 19, 1748, Jemynna, Johannes Huysman, Wyntye Symensse. 

Jan. I, 1738, Maria, Johannes Huysman, Wyntje Simons. 

Apr. 22, 1746, Catherina, Johannes huysman, wyntye Symonson. 

Jan. 7, 1730, Matthys, Matthys Jniaart, Elisabet Gerritzen. 

Apr. 22, 1746, nicklaes, matthys inyard, Elizabeth Gerretse. 

June 12, 1725, Rachel, Gerrit Jacobusz, Ann van nes. 

Mar. 25, 1701, Jacobus, Jacob Jansen. 

Apr. 22, 1707, Johanna, Jacob Jansen. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 379 

1707, Wyntie, Jacob Jansen. 

Apr. 19, 1709, Jacobus, Jacob Jans. 

June 12, 1716, Beletje, Tyes Jansen. 

May 22, 1718, Maria, Thys Jansz. 

July 17, 1726, Elisabet, Jan Janssen, Jannetje Glascovv. 

Apr. 19, 1719, Johannes, Johannes Jansz, Johanna Stol. 

June 19, 1720, Matthys, Mathys Jansz, Elisabet Ward. 

Jan, 17, 1722, Rachel, Matlhys Jansz, Elisabet Ward. 

July 14, 1713, Marytie, Hendrick Jansen. 

May 29, 1719, Matthys, Hendrik Janszen, Abigail Britton. 

July 16, 1727, Henrik, Hendrik Janszen, Francyntje Parein. 

Apr. 22, 1728, Belitje, Hendrik Janszen, Francyntje Parein. 

Aug. 31, 1729, Esther, Hendrik Janszen obit, Francyntje Parein. 

Apr. 6, 1724, Sara, Cornelis Janszen, Sara Manbrut. 

Feb. 20, 1726, Maria, Cornelis Janszen, Sara Manbrut. 

Dec. 25, 1728, Rachel, Cornelis Janszen, Sara Mambrut. 

Nov. 10, 1728, Elsje, Jan Janszen, Mayke Verkerk. 

May 5, 1696, Winnefrit, Lambert Janzen. 

Sept. 7, 1698, Aefye, Lambert Janzen. 

Aug. 29, 1731, Wynant, Matthys Janszen, Geertje Wynants. 

May 30, 1726, Thomas, Thomas Janszen, Antje van Pelt. 

Dec. 16, 1733, Femmetje, Williem Janszen, Lena van Gelder. 

Jan. 13, 1737, Henricus, Willem Janszen, Lena van Gelder. 

Mar. 18, 1739, Wynant, Willem Janszen, Lena van Gelder. 

1710, Johannes, Michiel De Jeen. 

Apr. 17, 1744, Aentje, Jan Jennens, Aeltje Marteling. 
July 19, 174S, Enne, Joseph Jeuvson, Wenne Johnson. 
June 5, 1720, Sara, John Jennes, Antje Wouters. 
Sept. 17, 1748, Willem, John Jenner, .^eltye martlinghs. 

Sept. I, 1734, Elsje, John Jennes, Johnson. 

Oct. I, 1752, Elsye, Joh Jenners, aeltye meerlings. 

Oct. II, 1748, Maria, Lambert Jenners, .-Vnna Martelinghs. 

Apr. 22, 1746, John or Jan, John Jennens, aeltje martlings. 

May 6, 1745, Sara, Lummert Jinnens, annatje Marteling. 

June 24, 1752, Antye, Willem Jinnes, Jannetye Gerretse. 

June 22, 1735, Esther, Eneas Johnson, Sara Morgan. 

Feb. 29, 1736, Thomas, Johannes Johnson, Jannetje Glascow. 

Nov. 7, 1753, Pieter, John Johnson, Cornelia Ceilo. 

June I, 1729, Albert, Johannes Johnson, Jannetje Glascow. 

Nov. 19, 1738, Henricus, Nathanael Johnson, Sophia van Gelder. 

June 17, 1746, Wynant, nathaniel Johnson, Mary Cole. 

July II, I 731, Francyntje, Niers Johnson, Sara Morgan. 

Dec. 23, 1739, Sara, Niers Johnson, Sara Morgan. 

Oct. 2, 1755, Johnneton, Pieter Johnson, malli lister. 

June 30, 1738, Casparus, Thomas Johnson, Anna Bouwman. 

July 20, 17 18, Eduard, Eduard Jones, Catharina Dekkers. 

Nov. 8, 1719, Mattheus, Eduard Jones, Catharina Dekkers. 

Apr. 22, 1722, Abigail, Eduard Jones, Catharina Dekkers. 

Aug. 14, 1726, Eduard, Eduard Jones, Catharina Dekkers. 

June 7, 1730, Maria, John Jones, Rachel van Engelen. 

Apr. 10, 1732, Elisabet, John Jones, Rachel van Engelen. 

Mar. 9, 1735, Johannes, John Jones, Rachel van Engelen. 



380 HISTOKY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

Sept. i8, 1737, Rachel, John Jones, Rachel van Engelen. 
Mar. 30, 1740, Lucretia, John Jones, Rachel van Engelen. 

May 6, 1745 Jan Jones, Ragel Van Engelen. 

Apr. 22, 1747, Isaac, John Jones, rachel van engelen. 

June 7, 1743, Catrina, Mateus Jones, Margrietje Gowen. 

May I, 1753, Jannetye, Abraham Joons, Jannetye peestnet. 

Dec. 17, 1732, Gillis, Matthys Jniaarx, Elisabet Gerritzen. 

May 4, 1735, Susanna, Matthys Jniaars, Elisabet Gerritzen. 

Apr. 23, 1739, Catharina, Matthys Jniaars, Elisabet Gerritzen. 

July, 30, 1750, Eefye, Joseph Juessen, Wynty Clindinne. 

Jan. 15, 1721, Johanna, Jan Jurks, Agneetje Staats. 

May 23, 1723, Pieter, Jan Jurks, Agnietje Staats. 

Oct. 10, 1725, Rachel, Jan Jurks, Agnietje Staats. 

Apr. 28, 172S, Catharina, Jan Jurks, Agnietje Staats. 

May 20, 1746, Joseph Juwsen, Joseph Juwsen, Venne Johnson. 

July 24, 1752, Sara, David kanon, Aeltye Prael. 

May 1, 1753, marytye, David kanon, aeltye Prael. 

May 7, 1 741, Abraham, Jan Kanon, Maria Egberts. 

June 24, 1752, Jenneke, Joris katraus, Jannetye vreland. 

Mar. 27, 1720, Samuel, Samuel Kierstede, Lydia Deuy. 

Apr. 14, 1723, Johannes, Samuel Kierstede, Lydia Deuy. 

Feb. 14, 1725, Lydia, Samuel Kierstede, Lydia Deuy. 

Aug. 7, 1754, Liesabet, Jacob Korson, Cornelia Kroeson. 

Mar. 3, 1734, Samuel, Samuel Kouwenhoven, Sara Drinkwater. 

Oct. 23, 1 7 II, Cornelis, Gerrit Kroese. 

Dec. — 1698, raaritje, Heuderyck Kroesen. 

May 20, 1703, gerret, Henderyck Kroesen. 

Oct. — 1708, Cornelis, Henderyck Kroesn. 

Apr. 22, 1713, neelje, Henderyck Kroesen. 

Aug. 26, 1759, Cornelius, Cornelius kroeson, Beelitye Degroot. 

Dec. 18, 1755, Geertruy, Gerret Kroesen, Klaasye Blencrof. 

Oct. 18, 1 7 15, dirrick, Gerrit Kroesen. 

Apr. I, 1 7 18, son, gerret Kroesen. 

Oct. 19, 1708, Gornelis, Hendrick Kroesen. 

, 1715, Neeltie, Hendrick Kroesen. 

Oct. 30, 1716, Cornelya, Hendrick kroesen. 

May 5, 1696, Niekasa, Derek Kroessen. 

Oct. 22, 1701, Derek, Derek Kroessen. 

July 30, 1707, Hendrick, Derek Kroessen. 

Sept. 17, 1758, Geertruy, Abraham Kroeson, Antye Symonson. 

Jan. 14, 1760, Johannis, Abraham kroeson, Antye Symonson, 

Oct. II, 1748, Claeseye, Gerret kroose, Claesye Blinckerof. 

Feb. 26, 1758, Isak, Nattenal Laacerman, marya marel. 

Nov, 3, 1754, Susanna, Nettenel Laakerman, Mareytye Merrel. 

Oct. 31, 1756, Nettenel, Nettenel Laakerman, Mareytye Merel. 

June 10, 1747, Jacob, Jan laarens, Caatye backer. 

May 3, 1749, Jan, John Laarens, Catherina Backer. 

July 28, 1 75 1, Antye, John Laarns, kaetye Backer. 

Nov. 26, 1752, Catharina, John laarns, Catharina Backer. 

Oct. 19, 17 18, Thomas, Thomas Lake, Jannetje Stryker. 

Mar. 26, 1 731, Abraham, Joseph Lake, Aaltje Barbank. 

May 23, 1731, Louis, Isak Lakerman, Catharina Christopher. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 381 

Feb. :o, 1760, richard, John Larns, Caatye backer. 
Mar. 3, 1728, Daniel, Pierre La Tourette, Mariamne Mersereaux. 
Oct. II, 1730, David and Jaques, twins, Pierre La Tourette, Mariamne 
Mersereaux. 

Mar. 24, 1734, Marie Siisanne, Pierre La Tourette, Mariamne Mersereaux 

Apr. 26, 1736, Elisabet, Pierre La Tourette, Mariamne Mersereaux. 

Mar. 19, 1732, Jaques, David La Tourette, Catherine Poillon. 

Sept. I, 1734, Marie, David la Tourette, Catherine Poillon. 

Apr. 24, 1726, David, Jean La Tourette, Marie Mersereaux. 

Sept. 8, 1728, Marie, Jean La Tourette, Marie mersereaux. 

Jan. 24, 1 73 1, Henricus, Jean La Tourette, Mane Mersereaux. 

May II, 173s, Maria, Joseph Leak, Aaltje Barbank. 

Apr. 13, 1735, Jacob, Richard Lean, Sara Johnson. 

Oct. 10, 1736, John, Richard Lean, Sara Johnson. 

Apr. 20, 1708, Joseph, Abraham Leeck. 

July 25, 1 7 10, Margariet, Abraham Leeck. 

17'S, Abraham, Abraham Leeck. 

Mar. 25, 1701, Jan, Jeems Lesck. 

July 27, 1755, Necclos, John Lerns, kaatye backer. 

Sept. II, 1757, Mareia, John Lerns, kaatye backer.' 

Jan. 21, 1728; Jacob, John Lisk, Rachel Hagewout. 

Aug. 24, 1729, Sara, Thomas Lisk, Catlyntje van Pelt. 

Mar. 26, 1731, Margriet, Thomas Lisk, Catlyntje van Pelt. 

Nov. 4, 1736, Sara, Thomas Lisk, Catlyntje van Pelt. 

May 6, 1745, Martha, tomas lisk, Catlintje van Pelt. 

Sept. 17, 1746, antye, thomas leisk, catlyna Van Pelt. 

Dec 5, 1 73 1, Neeltje, John Lion, Maria Haumens Bouwman. 

171S1 Elisabeth, Engelbart Lot. 

June 18, 1717, Pieter, Engelbart ].,ot. 

Aug. 6, 1745, Wellem, John Lawrance, Derkje Van pelt. 

May 21, 1744, Elisabet, Carel Mackleen, Maria Corsen. 

Jan, I, 1721, Maria, William Mackelien, Elisabet Merl. 

Oct. 13, 1747, Jannetye, Charles McClean, Maria corsen. 

Nov. 7, 1753, Maria, Charles McLean, Maria Corsen, 

Sept. iQ, 1749, Willem, Cherles makleen, Marytye Corsen. 

Apr. 20, 1708, Margriet, Jan Maklies. 

May 26, 1723, Abraham, Abraham Manez. Anna Jansen. 

Apr. 20, 1729, Petrus, Abraham Manez, Sara du Chine. 

Oct. 25, 1730, Antje, Abraham Manez, Sara du Chene. ^ 

Jan. 4, 1732, Maria, Abraham Manez, Sara du Chesne. 

Apr. 4, 1736, Catherine, Abraham Manez, Sara du Chesne. 

Mar. 26, 1738, Rachel, Abraham Manez, Sara du Chesne. 

Mar. 30, 1740, Sara, Abraham Manez, Sara du Chesne. 

Aug. 8, 1725, Maria, Pieter Manez, Mary Brooks. 

Jan. 1, 1758, John, John marel, Anna marel. 

Aug. 13, 1716, Isack, Pieter Marlyngh. 

Aug. 6, 174s, Maria, Barent Marteling, Susana Gerresen. 

Oct. 13, 1747, Jannety, barent martlinghs, Susanna gerretse. 

Apr. 15, 1722, Anna, Isaak Martling, Anna van Namen. 

Jan. 10, 1724-5, Aaltje, Isah Martling, anna van namen. 

Feb. 21, 1731, Johannes, Isaak Martling, Anna van Namen. 

June I, 1718, Petrus, Pieter Martlings, Antje Vielen. 



382 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

June 26, 1720, Barent, Pieter Martlings, Antje Vilen. 

Aug. 19, 1722, Debora, Pieter Martlings, Antje Vilen. 

Nov. 18, 1733, Catharina, Pieter Martlings, Marytje Andries. 

Oct. II, 1743, Johannes, peter marteling, annatje hegeman. 

Apr. 26, 1748, Johannes, Piter martlings, Jannetye Heereman. 

Apr. 22, 1746, rachel, Josua niasciro, maria Corsen. 

Jan. I, 1760, inarya, John Marssero, Marya Praal. 

Mar. 4, 1759, John, Denel marsero, Cornelia vanderbilt. 

Oct. 31, 1750, Mareya, Jacob marsero, fitye rol. 

July 27, 1755, Cattriena, Cherls mechleen, maria Corson. 

Oct. 31, 1756, Annaetye, tammas Merel, eva yoons. 

Aug. 26, 1759, tammes, tammas Merel, eva yoons. 

Jan. I, 1721, Lambert, Richard Merl, Elsjc Dorlant. 

Sept. 13, 1724, Susanna, Richard Merl, Elsje Dorlant, 

Sept. 22, 1709, Richard, Richart Merrel. 

1715. Richard, Richart Merrel. 

Apr. 1, 1708, elsje, Richart Merrel. 

Sept. 14, 1 741, Jan, Jan Merrel, .^eltie Bennit. 

May 6, 1745, Sara, Jan Merrel, Aeltje Bennet. 

May 6, 1745, Seimon, Jan Merrel, .\eltje Bennet. 

Oct. 2, 1755, Sara, John merrel, Anna merrel. 

Apr. 19, 1743, Annatje, Richard Merrell, Jannetje Gowns. 

Nov. 7, 1753, Wintie, Jan Merrell, Anna Merrell. 

May 3, 1749, Gertruyt, John Merrell, Anna merrell. 

July 4, 1725, Catharina and Susanna, twins, Philip Merril, Elisabet 
Bakker. 

Feb. 24, 1727, Phillip, Phillip Merril, Elisabet Bakker. 

Sept. 9, 1726, Geertruyd, John Merril, Geertruyd Symonsz. 

Oct. 31, 1736, Annatie, Richard Merril, Thomas Zoon, Jenne Gewan. 

Nov. 24, 1728, Nicolaas, Philip Merril, Elisabet Bakker. 

Jan. 17, 1731, Mary, Philhp Merril, Elisabet Bakker. 

Apr. 8, 1733, Elisabet, Philip Merril, Elisabet Bakker. 

Mar. 9, 1735, Neeltje, Philip Merril, Elisabet Bakker. 

Mar. 8, 1772, anney, honnis merril, cherrety merril. 

Jan. I, 1738, Margareta, Richard Merril, Thomas Zoon, Jenne Gewan. 

Apr. 22, 1747, richard, Johannes Merrill, aeltye Dennet. 

Apr. 22, 1747, Joida, John merrill, antye merrill. 

Dec. 12, 174s, Elsse, Lodewik Metchel, Ragel Sayler. 

Nov. 2, I 7 18, Elisabet, Charles Messiel, Marytje. 

Aug. 30, 1 7 19, Aaje and Abraham, twins, Johannes Metselaar, Cath- 
ryna neesjes. 

Oct. 15, 1721, Harmpje, Johannes Metzelaar, Cathryna Neesjes. 

July 21, 1723, Cornells, Johannes Metzelaar, Cathryna Neesjes. 

Dec. 26, 1725, Cornnelis and Sara, twins, Johannes Metzelaar, Cath- 
ryna neesjes. 

Feb. II, 1728, Joha.nnes, Johannes Metzelaar, Tryntje Neesjes. 

Apr. 19, 1715. Jacobus, Abraham Metzelaer. 

July 8, 1722, Harmpje, Pieter Metzelaar, Maria Neesjes. 

June 7, 1724, Cornelius, Peter Metzelaar, Maria Neesjes. 

June 26, 1726, Aaghije, Pieter Metzelaar, Maria Neesjes. 

May 20, 1750, abraham, Pieter meerlings Jun. anne Heereman. 

Sept. 17, 1752, Benyaman, Pieter meerlings Junier, Annaetye Heereman. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 383 

June 24, 1752, Antye, Barent meerlings, Susanna Gerretse. 

Daniel, Estienne Mersereaux, Anne Michel. 

Jan. I, 1735, Marie, Estienne Mersereaux, Anne Mitchel. 
May 25, 1740, Richard, Estienne Mersereaux, Anne Mitchel. 
Oct. 13, 1728, Josua, Josue Mersereaux, Maria Corsen. 
May 24, 1730, Jacob, Josue de mersereaux, Maria Corssen. 
Mar. 26, 1732, Johannes, Josue Mersereaux, Maria Corssen. 
Jan. 20, 1734, Elisabet, Josue Mersereaux, Maria Corssen. 
Oct. 9, 1768, Allada, John Mercereau, Mary Prall. 
Feb. 28, 1731, Josua, Jean Mersersaux, Elisabet Creage. 
July 18, 1731, Daniel, Jean Mersereaux, Elisabet Mersereaux. 
Apr. 22, 1707, Hendriekie, Evert Mesker. 

, 1707, Necltie, Evert Mesker. 

, 1715, Mattheus, Evert Mesker. 

, 1707, Neeltie, Harmen Mesker. 

July 23, 1707, Johannes, Harmen Mesker. 

Oct. ig, 17 14, Abraham, Harmen Mesker. 

Nov. 7, 1749, Barent, Barent merilings Juner, Susanna Gerretse. 

Jan. I, 1739, Francyntje, Thomas Milbourn, Anna Preyer. 

Apr. 22, 1747, harmentye, leuues mitchel, rachel tyler. 

Nov. 7, 1749, Joannis, Lewis Mitchel, Rachel Teeler. 

Apr. 18, 1743, Elisabet, Josua Mossero, Maria Corsen. 

July 4, 1731, Elisabet, Laurens More, Sara Mambrut. 

July 7, 1734, Johannes, Laurens More, Sara mambrut. 

Aug. 20, 1738, Rachel, Laurens More, Sara Mambrut. 

Oct. 23, 1703, Margrietye, Jarels Morgen. 

Apr. 20, 1708, Sarah, Jarels Morgen. 

May 9, 1725, Maria, Charles Morgan, Sara Lorson. 

Dec. ri, 1726, Thomas, Charles Morgan Jun'r, Sara Rutan. 

June 28, 1730, Abrahm, Charles Morgan, Sara Rutan. 

July 30, 1732, Charles, Charles Morgan, Sara Rutan. 

•Apr- 7, 1735, Thomas, Charles Morgau, Sara Rutan. 

May 5. 1696, Abraham, Thomas Morgen. 

Sept. 7, 1698, Martha, Thomas Morgen. 

Feb. 7, 1725, Elisabet, Thomas Morgan, Magdalena Staats. 

Feb. 12, 1727, Magdalena, Thomas Morgan, Magdalena Staats. 

Mar. 9, 1729, Pieter, Thomas Morgan, Magdalena Staats. 

Oct. 10, 1731, Thomas, Thomas Morgan, Magdalena Staats. 

July 18, 1736, Annatje, Thomas Morgan, Magdalena Staats. 

Sept. 16, 1739, Sara, Thomas Morgan, Magdalena Staats. 

Apr. 22, 1746, Pieter, Pieter nartlings, anna heeveman. 

1700, Metye, Cornelis Neesies. 

17071 Cornelis, Cornelis Neesies. 

Dec. 13, 1724, Pieter, Johannes Neesjes, Antje gerritsz. 
June 19, 1717, Eeohtje, Jornis nestjes. 

Sept. 13, 1 7 19, Johannes, Joris Netsjes, Willempje Borkelo. 
Oct. 15, 1721, Margarietje, Joris Neesjes, Willempje Borkelo. 
Jan. 12, 1724, Pieter, Joris Neesjes, Willempje Borkelo. 
Jan. 30, 1426, Aaghje, Joris Neesjes, Willempje Borkelo. 
Sept. 14, 1718, Dirkje, Johannes Neul, Geertje Hagewout. 
Mar. 6, 1720, Henrik, Johannes Neul, Geertje Hagewout. 
Dec. 24, 1721, Margareta, Johannes Neul, Geertje Hagewout. 



384 JIISTORY OF RICiniOND COUNTY. 

Apr. 17, 17 1 1, Cornell's, Joris Nevins. 

1715. Margrietie, Joris Nevins. 

17151 JaOi Joris Nevins. 

Oct. 23, 171 1, Cornells, Johannes Nevins. 

July 14, 1713, Gerrit, Johannes Nevins. 

Sept. 16, 1739, Carel, Carel nyts, Rebecca Winter. 

Sept. 8, 1717, Annetje, Cornelis Oenaert 

Apr. 19, 170Q, Margarietie, Donckin Oliver. 

July 27, 1718, Catharina, Samuel Olivier, Catharina du Puy. 

Aug. 12, 1722, Petronella, Samuel Oliver, Catharina du Puy. 

Jan. 16, 1734, Eduard, Jean Parlie, Abigail Jones. 

Jan. 20, 1740, Petrus, Pierre Parlier, Martha du Bois. 

June 13, 1736, Pieter, Jean Parliez, Abigail Jones. 

Apr. 26, 1748, Adriaen, Johannes Pelt, Anna Huysman. 

June 13, I 731, Jannetje, George Personet, Jannetje Mangels. 

Aug. 17, 1735, Johannes, George Personet, Jannetje mangels. 

May 31, 1730, Elisabet, Charles Petit, Anna Perliez. 

June 7, 1730, Willem Jorisze, Arent Praal, Marytje Bouwman. 

Oct. 7, 1733, Henricus, Arent Praal, Marytje Bouwman. 

May II, 1735, Henderske, arent Praal, Marytje Bouwman. 

June 6, 1715, Elisabeth, Aron Praal Junior. 

Apr. 17, 17 17, Aaron, Aron Paraal. 

Feb. 14, 1720, Anna, Arent Praal Junior, Antje Staats. 

Sept. 20, 1724, Pieter, Arent Praal Junior, Antje Staats. 

July 28, 1 75 1, Lowies, Isaak Prael, marya de baa. 

Nov. 2, 1754, Abraham, beniemen Praal, Sara Sweem. 

Aug. 26, 1766, Johannis, beniemen Praal, Sara Sweem. 

Apr. 13, 1742, Catharina, Isaac Praal, Maria du bois. 

July 19, 1748, Maragritye, ysaac Praal, Maria Dubaa. 

Oct. II, 1 7 19, Aaltje, Johannes Praal. 

1698, Arent, Pieter Praal. 

1705, Abiaham, Pieter Praal. 

Oct. 21, 1707, Antie, Pieter Praal. 

July 25, 1 7 10, Isaac, Pieter Praal. 

May 21, 1744, Petrus, Isaak Pral, Maria Du bois. 

Sept. 16, 1746, Allye, ysack prael, maria de baa. 

Sept. 8, 171 7, pieter, Valeteyn Presser. 

Feb. 17, 1722-3, Andries, Jacob Preyer, Lea Beekman. 

July 31, 1726, Johanna, Jacob Preyer, Lea Beekman. 

Feb. 14, 1732, Pieter, Jacob Preyer, Lea Beekman. 

May 20, 1722, Anna, Johannes Preyer, Maria Ral. 

Dec. 12, 1725, Andries, Johannes Preyer, Maria Rail. 

Oct. 20, 1728, Jannetje, Johannes Preyer, Maria Rail. 

Mar. 18, 1733, Catharina, Johannes Preyer, Marytje Roll. 

June 10, 1747, Jan, andries Pryor, helena Dorlandt. 

1698, Jan, Thomas Possel. 

Aug. 7, 1754, Gerrit, Gerrit Post, Sara ellis. 

Mar. 12, 1758, Abraham, Gerrit Post, Sara ellis. 

Apr. 19, 1743, Abraham, Johannes post, Antje huisman. 

July 28, 1751, Leya, Johannes Post, Antye Huysman. 

Oct. 22, 1707, Elisabeth, Johan Pue. 

July 27, 1714, Moses, Johan Pue. 



BISTOUY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 385 

Dec. 9, 1739, Elsje, Barent du Puy, Elsje Poillon. 

Oct. 9,-1726, Mattheus, Nicolaas du Puy, Neeltje Dekkers. 

June 27, 1726, Johannes, Nicolaas du Puy, Neeltje Dekkers. 

Jan. 4, 1730, Nicolaas, Nicolaas du Puy, Neeltje Dekkers. 

Oct. 29, 1732, Moses, Nicolaas du Puy, Neeltje Dekker. 

Aug. 26, 1739, Aaron, Nicolas du Puy, Neeltje Dekkers. 

May 26, 1740, Fytje, Jan Ral Junior, Fytje van Boskerk. 

May 20, 1746, Abraham, Joseph ralph, neeltye Croese. 

Apr. 26, 1748, Benyamen, Joseph Ralph, Neeltye Kroose. 

Nov. 7, 1749, Elizabeth, Joseph Ralph, Neltye kroesen. 

Oct. 18, 1715, Elesabet, Reick Reyken. 

May 6, 1745, Susanna, Jacob Resoe. Susanna Merrel. 

July 24, 1752, Geertruy, Jacob reso, Susanna merrel. 

Nov. 2, 1754, Catriena, Jacob resoo, Susanna merel. 

July 17,1720, Lea, Joh: Richaud, Amy Carber. 

Oct. 20, 1728, Elsje, Johannes Richand, Amy Corbet. 

Sept. 17, 1748, margret, William Richardson, Anne fisher. 

Apr. 23, 1707, Jacob, Johannes Richau. 

Oct. 22, 1707, Daniel, Paul Richau. 

Dec. 25, 1725, Rachel, Johannes Richaud, Amy Carbet. 

Apr. 20, 1708, Isaack, Johannes Richgan. 

Apr. 17, 171 1, Mary, Sohannes Richgan. 

1715. Antie, Johannes Richgan. 

June 18, 1745, Ragel, Abraham Rigga, annatje Van Woglom. 

May 23, 1749, Philip, Charlens RoUens, Susanna merrell. 

Sept. i8, 1744, Cornelia, Joseph Rolph, Nieltje Croesen. 

Apr. 19, 1743, Weintje, Jacob Rooso, Susanna Merrel. 

Feb. 25, 1739, Petrus. Jacob Roseau, Susanne merril. 

Sept. 14, 1 7 18, Nicolaas, gerret Rosen, Judith Toers. 

Aug. 13, 1717, Jacob, Pieter Rycke. 

Mar. 25, 1701, Johanes, Pieter Rycken. 

Apr. 20, 1703, Hendricus, Peter Rycken. 

Apr. 23, 1706, Pieter, Pieter Rycken. 

Apr. 17, 171 1, Abraham, Pieter Rycken. 

July 14, 1714, Isaac, Pieter Rycken. 

Feb. 16, 1755, Luwes, Adriaan Ryerse, Hester Debaa. 

Aug. 17, 1718, Femmetje, Abraham Ryke, Anneken Oliver. 

Jan. 25, 1 720-1, Abraham, .Abraham Ryke, Anneke Oliver. 

Nov. 23, 1 7 15, Abraham, Johannes Ryke. 

Oct. 19, 1718, Femmetie, Ryk Ryken. 

Oct. 23, 1711, Lena, Ryk Ryken. 

May 4, 1 7 14, Sofia, Ryk Ryken. 

Mar. 15, 1 719, Henricus, Ryk Ryken, Willempje Clement. 

Dec. 18, 1726, Rebecca, Albert Rykman, Catharina Christopher. 

Oct. 26, 1729, Albert, Albert Rykman, (obit), Cathrina Christopher. 

May 20, 1722, Maria, Jacob Ryt, Anna Ral. 

Sept, 25, 1757, Hanna, richard Sandars, ragel. 

Oct. 5, 1760, Sara, richard Sandars, ragel. 

Dec. 22, 1728. Jacoba, Corn: v. Santvoord, Anna Staats. 

Oct. 7, 1733, Zeger, Corn: v. Santvoord, Anna Staats. 

Mar. 6, 1720, Maria Catharina, Corn: v. Santvoord, Anna Staats. 

July 23, 1721, Anna, Corn: v. Santvoord, Anna Staats. 

25 



386 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Mar. 8, 1723. Cornelius, Corn: v. Santvoord. .\nna Staats. 

Mar. 21, 1725, Staats, Corn: v. Santvoord, Anna Staats. 

July 27, 1755, Susanna, John Schinnis, Aaltye Maerling. 

Apr. 17, 1720, Adriaan, Ary Schouten, Maria van Pelt. 

June 3, 1722, Anna, Israel du Secoy, Geertruydvan Deventer. 

Apr. 20. 1703, Gabriel, Marcus Du Secoy. 

Sept. 22, 1723, Johannes, Job du Secov, Sarah Denis. 

Dec. 12, 1725, Jonas, Jean Seguin, Elizabet Hooper. 

Mar. 3, 1728, Sara, Jaques Seguin, Lady mambrut. 

Mar. 19, 1732, Jean, Jaques Seguin, Lady Mambru. 

Mar. ig, 1732, Jaques, Jean Seguin, Elizabet Hooper. 

June 12, 1716, tabeta, Sande Semson. 

May I, 1753, Antye, Chrisstoffel Seymonse, Catharina van Schuere. 

Nov. 26, 1752, Sara, Daniel Seymonse, mareytye Decker. 

Sept. 16, 1746, maria, Seymon Seymonse. Sara Von pelt. 

Oct. 13, 1728, Jacob, Fredrik Sharman, Margreta Winter. 

July 19, 1730, Thomas, Fredrik Sharman, Margreta winter. 

July 27, 1755, Saartye, Daneel Silof. Henne klerrc. 

Aug. 26, 1759, Danel, Danel Silof, Henne klac. 

Aug. 7, 1754, Clandiena, Pieter Sielof, Marya vanpelt. 

May 6, 1745, Catrina, Cristofel Simesen, Catrina Van Seuren. 

Apr. 19, 1743, Cristofel, Cristofel Simeson, Catrina Van Schuerse. 

June 7, 1743, Blandena, Hans Siraonsen, antje Van pelt. 

Apr. 13, 1742, Van Pelt, Simon Simonsse, Sara van Pelt. 

May 3, 1749, Jeremyah, Simon Sinionsen, Helena Sweem. 

June 8, 173s, Thomas, Thomas Simon, Maria Johnson. 

Apr. 20, 1708, Simon, .\ert Simonszen. 

, 1710, Hans, Aert Simonszen. 

Oct, 23, 171 1, Aert, Aert Simonszen. 

July 14, 1713, Aert, Aert Simonszen. 

May II, 1729, Aaltje, Jan Philip Simsenbach, Ule Catharina Pikk- 
erling. 

May 2, 1754, Lammert, Wellem Sinnis, yannetye gerretse. 

Mar. 26, 1732, Pieter, Matthew Skane, Jannetje Tites. 

Dec. 4, 1768, Peggy, Abraham Skirmen, Alizabeth. 

Oct. 22, 1707, Johan, Barent Slecht. 

Apr. 19, 1709, Cornelis, Barent Slecht. 

Mar. 27, 1720, Maria, Henrik Slecht, Catharina Wynants. 

Jan. 7, 1722, Hilletje, Henrik Slecht, Catharina Wynants. 

Dec. 13, 1724, Barent, Henrik Slecht, Catharina Wynants. 

Mar. 20, 1726, Jacob, Henrik Slecht, Catharina Wynants. 

Mar. 17, 1728, Jan, Henrik Slecht, Catharina Wynants. 

Apr. 17, 1720, Cornelia and Catharina, twins, Johannes Slecht, Cathar- 
ina Berger. 

Feb. 29, 1736, Elisabet, Johannes Slecht, Elisabet van Engelen. 

Dec. 9, 1739, Catharina, Johan Adam Schmit, Maria Margareta Staat. 

July 23, 1707, Annetie, Johannes Smack. 

July 26, 1711, Marytie, Johannes Smack. 

'7°7. Jsn. Thomas Sotten. 

Feb. 25, 1721-2, Syrje, Baay Spier, Catalyntje Hasten. 

July 27, 1755, Edword, Willim Spree, Cattriena Maerling. 

.Feb. 26, 1758, Caty, Willim Spree, Cattriena maarling. 



HISTORY OF RIOHAIOND COUNTY. 387 

Mar. 25, T760. — Willim Spree, Cattrena maarling. 

Oct. 21, 1707, Isaak, Abraham Staats. 

May 5, 1696, Cornelia, Johan Staats. 

June 20, 1700, Annetye, Johan Staats. 

Oct. 22, 1707, Rebecka, Johan Staats. 

Apr. 20, 1708, Edmond. Pieter Staats. 

May 4, 1 7 14, Pieter, Pieter Staats. 

June 7, /731, Francyntje, Daniel Stillwell, Marie Poillon. 

Apr. 4, 1736, Daniel, Daniel Stillwell, Maria Poillon. 

Mar. 26, 1738, Jaques, Daniel Stillwell, Marie Poillon. 

July 31, 1737, Catharina, Daniel Stilwell, Catharine Lazilier. 

Nov. 25, 1739, Richard, Daniel Stilwell, Catherine Lazelier. 

Jan. 30, 1726, Thomas, Elias Stilwell, Anna Barbank. 

Mar. 24, 1728, Daniel, Elias Stilwell. Anna Barbank. 

Nov. 15, 1719, Johannes, Jan Stilwell, Elisabet Pardin. 

June 24, 1752, Eleyas, Jan Stilwil, helena van namen. 

May 23, 1749, Richard, Joachim Stillewel, Anna Jenners. 

July 28, 1751, Jan, Joackim Stilwils, antye Jinnes. 

Sept. 21, 1735, Nicolas, Richard Stilwell, Jenneke van namen. 

Dec. 22, 1723, Thomas, Thomas Stilwell, Sara van Namen. 

June 10, 1747, Elias, Thomas Stillwell, debora martlings. 

Sept. 17, 1752, Annaetye, thomas Stillewil, Debera meerlings. 

Feb. 16, 1755, Antoni, tammes Stillwel, nensy founten. 

Sept. 6, 1 719, Willem and Daniel, twins, Willem Stilwell, obiit, Sara 
Pareyn. 

Sept. 5, 1 731, Christoffel, Jan Philip Sumsenback, Ule Cathrina Pik- 
kerling. 

Oct. 18, 1715, Magyel (son), Wellem Swane. 

May 5, 1728, Maria, Anthony Sweem, Anna Brooks. 

Nov. 7, 1 73 1, Johannes, Barent Sweem, Marie Canon. 

Apr. 20, 1708, Annetie, Johannes Sweem. 

Apr. 17, 1711, Magdalena, Johannes Sweem. 

Oct. 19, 1714, Antie, Johannes Sweem. 

, 1715, Martha, Johannes Sweem. 

, 1715, Tys, Johannes Sweem. 

Apr. 1, 1718, Lysabet, Johannes Sweem. 

Oct. 18, 1 7 15, Albert, Johannes Swame. 

July 20, 1 718, Jan, Johannis Sweem, Senior, Jannetje La Forge. 

Mar. I, 1 7 19, Jacobus, Joh: Sweems, Anthonysz, Mary Rue. 

Aug. 25, 1723, Elisabet, Johannes Sweem, Mary Ferine. 

Apr. 22, 1 7 18, Rachel, Johannes Sweem, Mary Row. 

Oct. 5, 1760, Marya, John Sweem, Cornelia bergen. 

, 1707, Maydaleen, Matthys Sweem. 

Apr. 19, 1719, Anthony, Matthys Sweem, Catharina Mangels Ral. 

Oct. 22, 1727, Jannetje, Matthys Sweem, Catharina Mangels Rol. 

Apr. 21, 1734, .Matthias, Matthys Sweem, Cathrina Mangels Rol. 

Apr. 19, 1743, Matties, Mateis Swem, Catrina Merrel. 

May 6, 1745, Martinus, Mattas Swem, Catrina Merrel. 

Sept. 16, 1746, benyamen, matthys Sweem, catherina merrill. 

May 23, 1749, Catherina, Matthys Sweem, Catherina merrell. 

July 28, 1751. Isaak, Mathys Sweem, Chatarina Merril. 

May I, 1753, Susanna, matheus Swem, Catharina merrel. 



388 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Sept. i8, 1737, Geertruyd, Tys Sweeni. Cafharina Merril. 
Mar. 18, 1739, Johannes, Tys Sweem, Catharina Merril. 
Oct. 18, 1719, Johannes, Willem Sweem, Marya Lageler. 
Mar. 18, 1722, Cornelius, Willem Sweem, Marie Lageler. 

— , Abraham, Symon, Prael. 

Oct. 6, , Vredrick, Symonse, Sweem. 

Nov. 4, i754,fransintye, Aart Symenson, fransintye Morgon. 
June 10, 1717, Christoffel, Auert Symensen. 
Aug. s, 1722, Anna, Aart Synions, Margriet Daniels. 
July 26, 1724, Daniel, Aart Symons, Margriet Daniels. 
Oct. 16, 1726, Susanna, Aart Symons, Margriet Daniels. 
July 14, 1728, Barent, Aart Symons, Margriet Daniels. 
Aug. 23, 1730, Cornelius, Aart Symons, Margriet Daniels. 
Aug. 4, 1734, Isaak, Aart Symons, Margriet Daniels. 
Mar. 25, 1 701, Wyntie, Barent Symessen. 

, 1707, Johannes, Barent Symessen. 

, 1 7 10, Aron, Barent Symessen. 

Aug. 24, 1718, Maria, Barent Symonssen, Apollonia Messeker. 
June 17, 1746, Symon, christoffel Symonse, Catherina Van Spensc. 
April 26, 1748, nicholaes, Christophel Symonson, Catherina van 
Schaarc. 

Jan. 24, 1759, barant, Cornells Symonson, liesebat depne. 

June 9, 1754, , Daniel Symeson, Mally Decker. 

Feb. 26, 175S, Abraham, Daniel Symenson, Mally Dacker. 
Sept. 14, 1735, Annatje, Hans Symons, antje van Pelt. 
Jan. 7, 1739, Maria, Hans Synions, Antje van Pelt. 
May 23, 1749, Wyntye, Hans Symonse, Anna Van Pelt. 
June 12, 1720, Jeremias, Isaak Symons, Antje vand'r Bilt. 
July 8, 1722, Maria, Isak Symonsz, Antje vand'r Bilt. 
Dec. 17, 1732, Isaak, Isaak Symons, Neeltje Coteleau. 
Feb. II, 1733, Antje, Johannes Symons, Dina van Leuwen. 
June 22, 1735, Isak, Johannes Symons, Dina van Leuwen. 
Oct. 3, 1736, Geertje, Johannes Symons, Dina van Leeuwen. 
Sept 9, 1739, Aaltje, Johannes Svmons, Dina van Lawa. 
June 9, 1742, Johannes, Johannes Symonsse, Suster Corsse 
May 20, 1746. Johannes, Johannes Symonson, Antye Van Pelt. 
July 21, 1758, Geertruy, Johnnis Symonson, Antye banpelt. 
Oct. 2, 1755, Marretye, rem Symeson, Geertroy boskere. 
May 2, 1725, Antje, Symon Symonsz, Maria Woertman. 
Apr. 9, 1727, Marritje, Symon Symonsz, Maria Woertman. 
Mar. i6, 1729, Maria, Symon Symonsz, Maria Woertman. 
Apr. II, 1 73 1, Simon, Symon Symonsz, Maria Woertman. 
July 15, 1733, Cornelia, Symon Symonsz, Maria Woertman. 
Aug. I, 1736, Anna, Symon Symonsz Aarts Zoon, Sara van Pelt. 
Nov. 4, 1739, Aaltje, Symon Symons aarts Zoon, Sara van Pelt. 
Apr. 17, 1744, Art, Symen Symonson, Sara Van pelt. 
July 19, 1748, Elizabeth, Symon Symonson, Sarah van Pelt. 
May 2, 1754, Johennis, Symon Symeson, Sara vanpelt. 
Dec 18, 1755, Eevert, Symon Symeson, Sara van Pelt. 
Nov. 20, 1757, Sara, Symon Symonson, Sara vanpelt. 
Oct. 23, 171 1, Ephrum, Abraham Talor. 
May I, 1715, Altje, Abram Talor. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 389 

Nov. 23, 1715, maregriet, Abraam taylor. 

Aug. 21, 1720, Rachel, Abraham Tailor, Harmpje Hagewout. 

Nov. 25, 1722, Aaltje, Abraham Tailor, Harmpje Hagewout. 

July 4, 1725, Pieter, Abraham Tailor, Harmpje Hagewout. 

Apr. 6, 1729, Ephraim, Abraham Tailor, Harmpje Hagewout. 

Jan. 8, 1720-1, Isaak, Auke Tansz, Catharina Sabering. 

Nov. 23, 1715, Johannes, Pieter telburgh. 

Sept. 16, 1746, david, Samuel teeler, Suster Waggelom. 

May 5, 1696, Margrielie, Ephraim Thealer. 

1696, Jan, Ephraim Thealer. 

Aug. I, 1731, Margreta, Timothy Thorp, Margrietje Heermans. 

Aug. I, 1731, Abigail, John Thorp, AppoUonia Heermans. 

Jan. 16, 1732, Marytje, Teunis Ticbout, Margrietje Drinkwater. 

Jan. 14, 1733, Teunis, Teunis Tiebout, Margrietje Drinkwater. 

Dec. II, 1720, Willem, Pieter van Tilburgh, Metje Bouvvman. 

Feb. 24, 1727, Henricus, Pieter van Tilburgh, Metje Bouwman. 

Feb. 25, 1722, Cornelis, Syrah Tites, Aaltje Webs. 

Aug. 16, 1724, Aaltje, Tites Tites, Blandina van Pelt, 

Apr. 10, 1726, Sara, Tites Tites, Blandina van Pelt. 

Mar. 24, 1728, Maria, Titus Titusz, Blandina van Pelt. 

Mar. 6, 1730, Syrah, Titus Titusz, Blandina van Pelt. 

Apr. 15, 1734, Antje, Titus Titusz, Blandina van Pelt. 

May 2, 1736, Marytje, Titus Titusz, Blandina van Pelt. 

May 26, 1740, Teunis, Tites Titesz, Blandina van Pelt. 

June 25, 1727, Benjamin, Woodhul Tourneur, Anna Lawrence. 

Mar. 29, 1725, \Villem, Willem Tribs, Catlyna de Hart. 

Apr. I, 1718, Jorms, Pieter tylborgh. 

Aug. 2, 1705, Elisabeth, Cornelis Tyssen. 

Safya, Tytes, Van Pelt. 

Oct. 30, 1 7 16, Saertie, Seynien van Amen. 

Apr. 22, 1728, Rachel, .Matthys van Brakel, Rachel Jansz. 

Mar. 30, 1730, Maria, Matthys van Brakel, Rachel Jansz. 

Apr. 19, 1709, Laurens, Hendrick Van Campen. 

Apr. 17, 17 1 1, Lammert, Hendrick Van Campen. 

171S1 Aeltie, Hendrick Van Campen. 

1 7 'Si Hendrick, Hendrick Van Campen. 

Apr. 17, 1717, Johanes, Hendrick Van Campen. 

Apr. 23, 1707, Martha, Johannes Van Campen. 

Apr. II, 171 1, Christina, Johannes Van Campen. 

June 6, 1 7 15, Arent, Johannes Van Campen. 

Apr. 17, 17 17, gerret, oydeon Van Campen. 

Apr. 26, 1736, Jan, Cornelius van Cleef, Sara Mashal. 

July 27, I 714, Geesie, Rut Van Den Bergh. 

Oct. 21, 17:3, Hilletie, Rem Van De Bilt. 

July 21, 1758, Liesabet, Conradus vanderbeeck, Catlyntye Lisk. 

July 26, 1 7 19, Jan, Rem vander Beek, Dorothea Cateleau. 

May 28, 1721, Rem, Rem vander Beek, Dorothea Cateleau. 

June 2, 1723, Jaques, Rem vander Beek, Dorothea Coteleau. 

Jan. 21, 1728, Dorothea, Rem vander Beek. Dorothea Coteleau. 

June 18, 1745, Doritje, Jan Van Derbek, Annatje Martens. 

June 3, 1736, Lena, Rem vander Beek, Dorothea Coteleau. 

Mar. 27, 1720, Hilletje, Jacob vand'r Bjlt, Neelje Denys. 



390 HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Feb. 3, 1722-3, Jacobus, Jacob vander Bilt, Neeltje Denys. 
Dec. 25, 1725, Magdalena, Jacob vander Bilt, Neeltje Denys. 
Dec. 25, 1728, Johannes, Jacob vander Bilt, Neeltje Denys. 
Oct. 24, 1731, Cornelius, Jacob vander Bilt, Neeltje Denys. 
Feb. 24, 1734, Antje, Jacob vander Bilt, Neeltje Denysz. 
May 19, 1739, Femmetje, Jacob vand'r Bilt, Neeltje Denys. 
Jan. 21, 1739, Gerrit, Hendrik vander Hoef, Eva Slot. 
Apr. 19, 1719, Lea, Job: vand'r Hoeven, Anna Sweeni. 
Mar. 18, 1722, Cornelius, Johannes vand'r Hoeven, Anna Sweem. 
Feb. 2, 1723-4 Lea, Johannes vandr Howen, Anna Sweem. 
May 29, 1726, Elizabet, Johannes vander Hoeven, Anna Sweem. 
Feb. 18, 1728, Johannes, Johannes vander Hoeve, Anna Sweem. 
Jan. 24, 1731, Anthony, Johannes vandr Hoeven, Anna Sweem. 
Aug. 13, 1727, Catharina, Jacob van Dyk, Catharina van Brunt. 
Feb. 8, 1730, Catharina, Jacob van Dyk, Catharina van Brunt. 
Feb. 13, 1732, Zacheus, Jacob van Dyk, Catharina van Brunt. 
Apr. 14, 1734, Cornelius, Jacob van Dyk, Catharina van Brunt. 

1698, Annetie, Hendrick Van Dyck. 

June II, 1 72 1, Henricus, Lambert van Dyk, Marritje Hogelant. 
."^pr. 14, 1723, Elisabet, Lambert van Dyk, Marritje Hooglant. 
Oct. 22, 1709, Rachel, Ahasuerus Van Engelen. 
Apr. 17, 1718, Johannes, Ahasuerus Van Engelen. 
Aug. 9, 1719, Frederyk, Hendrik van Leuwen, Geurtje Cateleau. 
Oct. 6, 1727. Lena, Hendrik van Leuwen, Geurtje Coteleau. 
July 19, 1748, Aron, Aron Van namen, Maria Maclean, 
July 28, 1 75 1, rachel, Aron van namen, Mary Mackleen. 
Mar. 23, 1760, Moses. Aron Vannamen, Maria Macleen. 
Feb. 16, 1755, Antye, Aron Vannamen, Maria Macleen. 
Apr. 12, 1719, Johannes, Engelbert van Namen, Marytje de Camp. 
Oct. 15, 1 72 1, Sara and Mcria, twins, Engelbert van Namen, Marytje 
de Camp. 

Apr. 22, 1709, Joseph, Evert Van Namen. 

Aug. 3, 1718, Alaria, Evert van Namen, Wyntje Benham. 

May 18, I 718, Pieler, Johannes Van Namen. 

Mar. 29, 1725, Sara. Johannes van Namen, Marytje van Pelt. 

Aug. 17, 1 718, Aaron, Symon van Namen, Sara Praal. 

Feb. 21, 1725, Moses, Simon van Namem, Sara Praal. 

, , Jannetye, Van Pelt, Valkenburgh. 

Oct. 13, 1747, maria, Antoni Van Pelt, Jannetye Symonse. 

July 30, 1750, Elizabeth, Antony Van Pelt, Jenneke Seymense. 

Jan. I, 1760, Sara, Antony vanpelt, Jenneke Symeson. 

Dec. 10, 1 721, Maria, Aart van Pelt, Christina Jmmet. 

May 5, 1696, Annetie, Hendrick Van Pelt. 

Mar. 25, 1701, Aeltie, Hendrick Van Pelt. 

Apr. 12, 1 7 19, Catlyntje, Hendrik van Pelt, Margrietje de Hart. 

Jan. I, 1721, Hendrik, Hendrik van Pelt, Margrietje de Hart. 

Apr. 17, 1 71 1, Jan, Jacob Van Pelt. 

— , 1715, Derckie (girl\ Jacob Van Pelt. 

— , 1 7 15, Marytie, Jacob Van Pelt. 

Apr. 16, 1717, Pieter, Jacob Van pelt. 

Nov. 8, 1719, Cytlyntje, Jacob van Pelt, Aaltje Hagewout. 

Sept. 27, 1724, Catlyntje, Jacob Van Pelt, .Aaltje Hagewout. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND OOUNTY. 391 

Oct. 15, 1727, Jan, Jacob Van Pelt, Aaltje Hagewout. 
Jan. 25, 1 7 19, Sara, Jan van Pelt, Aaltje Hoogslant 

Oct. 16, 1720, Catlyntje, Jan van Pelt, Aaltje Hooghlant. 

May 25, 1729, Jan and Susanna, twins, Jan Van Pelt, Anthony's zoon, 
Susanna La Tourette. 

Apr. 25, 1731, Maria, Jan van Pelt, Jan's zoon, Tryntje Bouwman. 

Apr. 15, 1733, Anthony, Jan van Pelt, Anthony's zoon, Susanne la 
Tourette. 

Mar. 28, 1736, Antje, Jan van Pelt, Pieter's Zoon, Jannetje Adams. 

Apr. 4, 1736, Joost, Jan van Pelt, Anthony's Zoon, Susanne La Tour- 
ette. 

Sept. 14, 1742, Trientje, Jan Van Pelt, maria Bouman. 

Apr. 13, 1742, William, Jan Van Pelt, Jannetje Adams. 

Apr. 17, 1744, Jannetje, Jan Van pelt, Jannetje Adams. 

May 6, 1745, Nieltje, Jan Van pelt Jun'r, Catrina Bouman. 

Apr. 22, 1746, maria, Jan Van Pelt, Jane adams. 

Apr. 26, 1748, maragritye, Jan Van Pelt, Jane Adams. 

May 20, 1750, Samuel, Jan Van Pelt, Jane adams. 

Apr. 23, 1707, Blandyena, Johannes Van Pelt. 

Apr. 20, 1708, Simon, Johannes Van Pelt. 

, 1710, Cathalyn, Johannes Van Pelt. 

Apr. 19, 1715, Simon, Johannes Van Pelt. 

Apr. 16, 17 17, Petrus, Johannes Van Pelt. 

June 7, 1719, Johannes, Johannes van Pelt, Sara Le Roy. 

Jan. I, 1 72 1, Sara, Johannes van Pelt, Sarah Le Roy. 

Feb. 16, [755; Susanna, John Van Pelt, Maria Joons. 

Mar. 8, 1772, Mary, John vanpelt, Catherine lawrence. 

May 4, 1714, Catharina, Joost Van Pelt. 

Sept. 8, 171 7, Johannes, Joost Van Pelt. 

Mar. 20, I 7 16, Joost, Joost Van pelt. 

Oct. 21, 1707, Jan, Pieter Van Pelt. 

July 25, 1710, Samuel, Pieter Van Pelt. 

Nov. 23, I 715, Willem, Pieter Van pelt. 

Apr. 16, 1717, Sameul, Peter Van Pelt. 

Apr. 18, 1743, Maria, Petures Van Pelt, Barbera houltie. 

Sept. 16, 1746, Johannes, Pieter Van Pelt, barbara, hoolten. 

Sept. 17, 1748, Barbara, Pieter Van Pelt, Barbara hoelten. 

Nov. 7, 1753. Jacob, Petrus Van Pelt, Barbara Hulten. 

Oct. 12, 1755, David, Pieter vanpelt. Barber Houlton. 

Aug. 26, 1759, Sara, Piater vanpelt, Barber . 

July 19, 1748, Pieter, Samuel Van Pelt, Maria falkenborgh. 

Apr. 18, 1743, Maria, Simon Van pelt, Maria Adams. 

Aug. 6, 1745, Sara, Scimen Van Pelt, Maria Adams. 

June 10, 1747, Jennie, Symon Van Pelt, Malli adams. 

May 23, 1749, Peterus, Symon Van Pelt, mria Adams. 

, 1696, Marritsie, Theunis van Pelt. 

Oct. 9, 1726, Anthony, Teunis van Pelt, Maria Drageau. 

Feb. 14, 1731, Johannes, Teunis van Pelt, Marie Drageau. 

June 3, 1734, Maria, Teunis van Pelt, Marie Drageau. 

May 19, 1737, Joost, Teunis van Pelt, Marie Drageau. 

Nov. 19, 1738, Teunis, Teunis van Pelt, Marie Drageau. 

Oct. 22, I 701, Stoffel, Stoffel van Santen. 



392 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



— , 1706, Josua, Stoffel van Santen. 



Feb. 7, 1719-20, Otto, Abraham van Tuyl, Femmetje Denytz. 

Oct. 2, 1705, Geertruyt, Abraham Van Tuyl. 

Sept. 22, 1709, Elena, Abraham Van Tuyl. 

June 2, 1734, Jan, Abraham van Tyl Isaak's zoon, Marytje ven Pelt. 

Nov. 18, 1739, Femmetje, Abraham van Tuyl, Metje Vreelans. 

May 7, 1 741, Machiel, Abraham Van Tuyl, Metje Vrielandt. 

Aug. 16, 1743, femmetje, Abraham Vantuyt, Mitje freeland. 

Aug. I, 1731, Abraham, Denys van Tuyl, Neeltje Croesen. 

Sept. 8, 1734, Denys, Denys van Tuyl, Neeltje Croesen. 

Mar. 4, 1739, Neeltye, Denys van Tuyl, (obit), Neeltje Croesen. 

Sept. 22, 1709, Catharyntie, Isaac Van Tuyl. 

May I, 1720, Catharina, Isaak Van Tuyl, Sara Lakerman. 

Apr. 6, 1724, Geertruyd, Isaak van Tuyl, Sara Lakerman. 

May 4, 1735, Abraham, Jan van Tuyl. 

Sept. 17, 1738, Johannes, Johannes van Tuyl, Belitje Byeank. 

Sept. 16, 1746, Abraham, otto Van Tuyl, Tryntye boskek. 

Nov. II, 1722, Fenmietje, Jan Van Voorhees, Neeltje Neesjes. 

Nov. II, 1722, Willemsje, Jan Van Voorhees, Neeltje Neesjes. 

Nov. II, 1722, [The two last, no doubt were twins.] 

May 9, 1725, Jacobus, Jan van Voorhees, Neeltje Neesjes. 

Mar. 24, 1728, Roelof, Jan van Voorhees, Neeltje Neesjes. 

Apr. 16, 1732, Neeltje, Jan van Voorhees, Neeltje Neesjes. 

Oct. 23, 1737, Maria, Roelof van Voorhes, Coteleau. 

Dec. 12, 1745, Aentje, Cornelus van Wagenen, Hellena Bon. 

Sept. 17, 1746, maragrita, Cornelius Vanwagenon, helena bon. 

July 24, 1752, Catharina, Cornelius van wagenen, helena Bon. 

Feb. 16, 1755, Lena, Cornelus Vanwagenne, Lena Bon. 

June 24, 1752, marregrietye, Hendrick van wagene, Palli Seymense. 

Nov. 7, 1753, Annatje, Hendrick Van Wagenne, Maria Simonse. 

Feb. 16, 17S5, Johannes, Hendrick Van Wagenne, Maria Simonse. 

Oct. I J, 174S, Johannes, Johannes Van wagene, Elsye Berge. 

Mar. 9, 1729, Aaghje, Daniel van Winkel, Jannetje Vreelant. 

July 27, T729, Adriaan, Adriaan van Waggelum, Celia Preyer. 

Aug. 8, 1731, Abraham, Adriaan van Woggelum, Celitje Preyer. 

Sept. 18, 1726, Jan, Douwe van Woggelum, Jannetje Staats. 

Feb. 25, 1728, Jan Staats, Douwe van Woggelum, Jannetje Staats. 

May 21, 1716, Jan, Arey Van Woglom. 

July 19, 1724. Zuster, Douwe van Woggelum, Jannetje Staats. 

June 28, 1730, Cornelius, Douwe van Woggelum, Jannetje Staats. 

June 27, 1736, Catharina, Douwe van Woglum, Jannetje Staats. 

Sept. 14, 1742, Antje, Douwen Van Woglom, Jannetje Staats. 

Apr. 17, 171 1, Nicolaes, Jan Vechten. 

Oct. 22, 1 71 7, Catharyna, Johan Vechten. 

Mar. 20, 1 7 16, Gerret, Jan Veghte. 

Nov. 8, 1719, Johannes, Jan Veghten, Cornelia Staats. 

Jan. 24, 1725, Jannetje, Jan Veghte, Cornelia Staats. 

June 25, 1727, Henrik, Jan Veghte, Cornelia Staats. 

Apr. 7, 1734, Jan, Nicolaas Veghte, Neeltje van Tuyl. 

Nov. 7, 1753, Jannetje, Jan Veldtman, Jannetje Jurks. 

July 28, Hendrick, Vellman, Jurks. 

Sept. 18, 1744, Maria, Jan Veltman, Jannetje Jurcks. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 393 

Apr. 22, 1746. Jan, Jan Veldtman, Jannetye Jurks. 

Sept. 17, 1748, Geertruyt, Jan Veltman, Jannetye Jurks. 

June 12, 1 7 16, jjetrus, Steven Vetyto. 

Aug. 5, 1739, Michiel, Michiel Vreelant, Janneke van Houten. 

Sept. 17, 1752, Joliannes, Helmig vreland, neeltye van hoor. 

Nov. 3, 1754, Wachgiel, Helmis vrelant, Neeltye vanhoren. 

Oct. 8, 1738, Jacobus, Joseph Walderon, Aasje Healaken. 

Apr. 22, 1707, Lambert, Lambert VVels. 

June 26, 1720, John, John Whithead, Elisabet Bakker. 

Mar. 6, 1725 6, Maria, Johannes Wimmer, Wyntje Symons. 

Feb. I, 1730, Jesuias, Jan Winter, Martha Bug. 

Feb. 14, 1732, Maria. Jan Winter, Martha Baile. 

May 31, 1719, Frans, obadias Winter, Susanna du Puy. 

May 8, 1737, Thomas, Thomas Wilmot, Elisabet Mersereaux. 

Apr. 22, 1707, Christyntien, Johan Woggelum. 

July 26, 171 1, Suster, Johan Woggelum. 

Dec. 25, 17 19, Johanna, Aryvan Woglum. Celia Preyer. 

Jan. 3, 1722, Anna, Aryvan Woglum, Celia Preyer. 

Jan. 27, 1725, Andries, Aryvan Woglum, Celia Preyer. 

Aug. 7, 1720, Hendrikje, Cornelis Woinat, Tryntje Bouvvman. 

Sept. 19, 1725, Jannetje, Stephen Wood, Geertje Winter. 

Dec. 24, 1727, Steve and Obadia, twins, Stephen Wood, Geertje Win- 
ter. 

July 13, 1731, Richard, Stephen Wood, Jomine Mott. 

Apr. 20, 1703, Cornelis, Jacob Wouters. 

Oct. 23, 171 1, Beniamin, Jacob Wouters. 

Apr. ig, 1709, Sara, Lambert Wouters. 

1729, Henricus, Henry Wright, Aaltje Martlings. 

May 29, 7726, Susanna, Jacob Wright, Antje Role. 

May 26, 1723, Elisabet, Cornelis VVynant, Maria Cole. 

Dec. 25, 1725, Maria, Cornelis Wynant, Maria Cole. 

Feb. 6, 1728, Cornelius, Cornelis Wynant, Mary Coles. 

May 4, 1729, Cathryr.tje, Johannes Wynants, Lena Bird. 

Mar. 19, 1732, Pieter, Johannes Wynants, Magdalena Bird. 

Apr. 23, 1707, Pieter, Pieter Wynants. 

Mar. 27, 1720, Pieter, Wynandt Wynandts, Ann Cole. 

Mar. 14, 1725, Abrahan, Wynant Wynants, Ann Cole. 

Oct. 9, 1726, Jacob, Wynant Wynants, Ann Cole. 

Apr. 22, 1728, Daniel, Wynant Wynants, .\nn Cole. 

Feb. 28, 173 1, Joseph, Abraham Yates, Hester Drinkwater. 

Sept. 17, 1758, .Mareya, John yennes, AUye merling. 

Jan. 13, 1734, Christiana, Johan Philip Zumsenbach, Ule Cathrine 
Pikkerling. 

Mar. 28, 1736, Hanna, Johan Philep Zumsenbach, Ule Catharine 
Pikkerling. 

July 19, 1726, Abraham, Abraham Zutphen, Marytje Borkelo. 

June 4, 1727, Maria, Abraham Zutphen, Marytje Borkelo. 

Oct. 26, 1729, Antje, Abraham Zutphen, Marytje Borkelo. 

Oct. 24, 1 731, Jannetje, Abraham Zutphen, INIarytje Borkelo. 

July 25, 1710, Sara Gennens 
fuly 25, I 7 10, Mary Gennens. 

Apr. 8, 1733, Eva. 



394 HISTORY OF UICIIMO^'^D COUNTY. 

Sept. 14, 1 741, Maryya, Tamlisck Kadlyne van peldt. 

Apr. 19, 1743, hester, Ragel Willmsen. 

June I'S, 1745, Jucres, Sara Van namen. 

May 2, 1754, Isack, Merya Sinnis 

May 2, 1754, Jan. Sara Dey. 

It is supposed that religions services after the forms of the 
church of England were occasionally held here previous to 1704, 
for in October of that year the Rev. William Vesey, of Trinity 
church, New York, in reporting the state of religion in this 
county to the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts," says there was a tax of forty pounds a year 
laid upon the people and they desired to have a minister sent 
to them. The foundation for this tax lay in the act which was 
passed under the direction of Governor Fletcher in 1693, which 
in effect established the church of England in the counties of 
New York, Westchester, Queens and Richmond, under the 
patronage of the government. By this act the inhabitants of 
each county named were to choose annually ten vestrymen and 
two church wardens. These officers were empowered to make 
choice of the minister or ministers for each district, and for 
the support of these ministers a certain sum was directed to be 
assessed on the inhabitants of all denominations in each 
county. The act indeed did not especially enjoin that the min- 
isters so chosen should be of the Episcopal church, and by an 
explanatory act, passed several years afterward, it was even de- 
clared that dissenting ministers might be chosen. By lodging 
the right of choice, however, with the vestrymen and church 
wardens alone, it was well known that Episcopal ministers 
would of course be always elected. 

Though this law remained upon the statute book during the 
colonial period it became to a degree inoperative, through the 
munificent bequest of Judge Duxbury made some years later. 

In 1706 Rev. John Talbot was sent here as a missionar}', but 
a church m New Jersey shared his ministrations. Soon after 
he was succeeded by the Rev. Eneas McKenzie. Catechists or 
schoolmasters were employed under the direction of the so- 
ciety as early as 1712. Before this time even, the matter of 
erecting a church building was talked of. They were then 
using the French church for their worship. On the 6th of 
August, 1711, William Tillyer and Mary, his wife, gave to the 
society a building site for a church and burial ground at the 



HISTORY OF RICiniOND COUNTY. 395 

head of Fresh kill, on Karle's neck. In 1713 a donation of 
one hundred and fifty acres of land was made to this church 
by the generosity of Adolphus Philips, counsellor; Lancaster 
Symes, a captain in Fort Lewis; Ebenezer Wilson and Peter 
Faulconer, merchants, all of New York. This was sold by the 
trustees, and another piece of ground, more conveniently lo- 
cated, was purchased for a glebe. During the year 1713 a church 
was erected on the ground which two years before had been 
given for the purpose. This was a plain stone structure, and 
as far as anything is known stood on substantially the same 
site now occupied by St. Andi-ew's church at Richmond. In 
the year last mentioned Mr. McKenzie writes to the society 
that during the first seven years of his ministry here he had 
preached "ujion sufferance in a, F'rench Chnvch,''^ but the church 
people had now "got a pretty handsome church of their own 
to preach in," and a house was about being built on the recently 
purchased glebe. 

The church was now established under the royal charter of 
Queen Anne, who also presented the church with prayer books, 
a pulpit cover, a silver communion service and a bell. The 
names of prominent freeholders on the island, attached to this 
church, appear in the charter, as follows: Ellis Duxbury, 
Thomas Harmer, Augustin Graham, Joseph Arrowsmith, 
Lambert Gerritson, Nathaniel Brittain, William Tillyer, Rich- 
ard Merrill, John Morgan and Alexander Stewart. 

In 1718 Ellis Duxburj^ bequeathed to this church an extensive 
tract of land. His will bears date May 5, 1718, and it was ad- 
mitted to probate October 22 following. The property was a 
plantation of two hundred acres, situated on the northeast ex- 
tremity of the island; and consequently the point of land at New 
Brighton was, until a recent date, generally known as "Dux- 
bury's Point," and sometimes '' The Glebe." It was bequeathed 
to the minister, church wardens and vestry of St. Andrew's 
church, for the onl}^ use and maintenance of the minister and 
incumbent. The property still owned by the church at Tomp- 
kinsville and its vicinity is a part of this bequest. Being a de- 
vise to a religious incorporation, it was void by law, but as the 
title of the church was never disputed, and as the state by sev- 
eral acts incidentally recognized its validity, to say nothing of a 
possession of more than a century and a half, the title has long 
ago become unimpeachable. By the same will the church re- 



396 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

ceived £ • foi' building additions to the church, in addition 

to the above bequest. 

The salary of Rev. Mr. McKenzie, in 1717, appears to have 
been raised to £50 a 3'ear. At what time he closed his labors 
here we are not informed, but in 1733 Mr. Harrison appears as 
the missionary on Staten Island. Two years later the numerical 
strength of the church was about fifty communicants. Mr. Har- 
rison at this time writes that he has baptized nearly seventy 
children since he came here, also " that he hath baptized one 
Irtdian Woman, two adult Negroes, and three Negroe Children ; 
that he preaches on Sundays once ; catechises and exj^ounds 
after the second Lesson, and teaches the Negroes after Service 
is ended, and the Congregation gone home ; for many of them 
live far from Church, and will not come twice, nor stay long." 
The labors of Mr. Harrison ended with his death, which took 
place October 4, 1739. The vestry then elected a Mr. Arnold, a 
missionary who had been traveling in New England, to be mis- 
sionary on Staten Island. In 1743 Mr. Arnold writes " that his 
church is Church is increased twofold and he hath lately baj)- 
tized ten Negroes, and is still preparing several more for that 
Sacrament." He resigned in 1745, and Rev. Richard Caner was 
appointed to the mission. 

In 1747 the Rev. Richard Charlton became rector ; his eldest 
daughter was connected by marriage with the Dongan family, be- 
ing the wife of Thomas Dongan, and mother of John C. Dongan; 
and another daughter was the wife of Dr. Richard Bailey, who 
was health officer of the port of New York, and died in 1801 ; 
his remains are interred in the grave yard of the church. Dr. 
Charlton's ministry continued thirty-two years; he died in 1779, 
and was buried under the communion table in St. Andrew's 
church. 

After the decease of Mr. Charlton the pulpit was supplied for 
a brief term by the Rev. Mr. Barker. On the first day of May, 
1780, the Rev. Mr. Field became the rector ; he had been a chap- 
lain in the British army, stationed in the fortifications in the vi 
cinity of the church. His first baptism is recorded as having 
been performed two weeks after that day. Mr. Field died in 
1782, and was buried by the soldiers of the Seventy-seventh 
regiment of British troops, the place of his sepulchre being be- 
neath the church. 

During the whole revolutionary war, the island being in pos- 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 397 

session of the British, divine service was generally suspended in 
all the churches except this. The same is true of all other parts 
of the country whei-e the British were in possession. Where the 
whigs had power none were closed except such Episcopal 
churches, the rectors of which refused to omit the prayers for 
the king. 

In 1783 the Rev. John H. Rowland became rector. He was a 
native of Wales, and had been previously settled in a parish 
in Virginia. In 1788 he removed to Nova Scotia, and died in 
1795. 

In October, 1788, the Rev. Richard Channing Moore became 
rector. He was born in the city of New York, August 21st, 
1762 ; he studied medicine and practised physic for a few years, 
when he became a student of Bishop Provost. His first minis- 
try, after receiving orders, for a very brief period, was at Rye, 
in Westchester county, and at the date above mentioned he came 
to Staten Island, where he remained until 1808, when he accepted 
a call to St. Stephen's church. New York. In 1814 he was elected 
Bishop of Virginia and rector of the Monumental church in the 
city of Richmond, and was consecrated May 18, 1814. During 
his incumbency, in 1802, a chapel was built on the north side, 
and called "Trinity Chapel," which has since become the 
Church of the Ascension. He died November 11, 1841. Fi-om 
1793 to 1801 he officiated also at Amboy at stated times. 

In May, 1808, Dr. Moore was succeeded by his eldest son, the 
Rev. David Moore, who continued rector for the period of forty- 
eight years. Rev. David Moore, D.D., was born in the city of 
New York, June 3d, 1787 ; he studied theology with his father, 
and was admitted to the diaconateinl808, when he immediately 
took charge of his parish. In the northeast corner of the burial 
ground of St. Andrew's church stands a beautiful marble monu- 
ment, with the following inscription on one side : 

Rev. David Moore, D.D., 

Rector of 

St. Andrew's Church, 

Including Trinity Chapel, 

Staten Island. 

Born June 3d, 1787, 

Died Sept. 30th, 1856, 

Aged 69 Years. 



398 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



On a mural tablet within the church is the following: 
" Sacred to the memory of Rev. David Moore, D. D.; or- 
dained Deacon in Trinity Church, Maj' 8, 1808. Received 
priests' ordei's in old St. Andrew's, June, 1811. After a min- 
istry of 48 years in this parish, entered into rest on Tuesday 
evening, September 30, 1856. In his life and character he 
was an exemplary pattern to his flock, possessing in an emi- 
nent degree those qualifications which endeared him to the 
hearts of an attached people, and raised in their affections a 
monument which will endure when the church militant on 
earth shall receive the full fruition of the church triumphant in 
Heaven." 







■^/./,:^"^ 



ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH, RICHMOND. 



Dr. Moore was succeeded by the Rev. Theodore Irving, 
LL. D., February 5, 1857, who resigned in November, 1864. 

In June, 1865, Rev. C. W. Bolton became rector, but resigned 
in the following January, and was succeeded by the Rev. Kings- 
ton Goddard, D.D., of Philadelphia. Dr. Goddard died Octo- 
ber 24tli, 1875, and was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. Yocum, who 
was installed June 15th, 1876. 

It is a circumstance worthy of note in connection with the 
revolutionary history of this church that although services in 
it were continued throughout the war while other churches 
were either closed or burned, the baptisms did not average more 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 399 

tlian three in a year, and some of these were children whose 
parents belonged to the arm}-. 

The Episcopal churches on the island have at different times 
been the recipients of donations and loans from Trinity church, 
New York. Among these may be noticed a grant of $1,000 to 
the church on the North Side in 1800; one of $1,000 to St. 
Andrew's in 1802; and one of $1,500 to St. Luke's in 1846. 

In 1802, Trinity chapel, in connection with St. Andrew's 
church at Richmond, was built upon a lot of land on the north 
shore, conveyed for the purpose by John McVicar, Esq. Rev_ 
Richmond Channing Moore, rector of the church at Richmond, 
officiated in it until he left the parish. After his departure, his 
son. Rev. David Moore, succeeded to the rectorship, and 
preached, usually every Sunday afternoon, until a short time 
before his decease, being assisted in his duties in both places 
by several other clergymen employed for the purpose. After 
his death, the services in the chapel were conducted by several 
clergymen temporarily engaged until May, 1869, when another 
parish was organized, and Trinity chapel became the Church of 
the Ascension. The first rector after the organization was Rev. 
Theodore Irving, LL. D., of Newburgh. The congregation in- 
creased so rapidly that the old frame building was found to be 
insufficient, and the erection of a new church was determined 
upon. The corner stone of the new edifice was laid with ap- 
propriate ceremonies on the 30th day of August, 1870, and was 
first opened for divine service on Ascension Day, May 16, 1871. 
Dr. Irving continued in the church until February, 1872, when 
he resigned. In July, 1872, the present rector. Rev. James S. 
Bush, of San Francisco, was settled. 

The officers of the church at the time of the erection of the 
chapel, were Rev. Richard Channing Moore, rector; James 
Guyon and Peter Mersereau, wardens, and Peter Laforge, 
John Latourette, John Van Dyke, Nicholas Journeay. Paul 
Micheau, Joshua Wright, Paul J. Micheau, and George W. 
Barnes, vestrymen. The material of which the church is built 
is Staten Island granite; it is cruciform, and has several 
beautiful memorial windows; it has a turret on the northeast 
corner, and a tower and spire one hundred and fifteen feet high 
on the northwest corner. 

St. John's parish was an offshoot from St. Andrew's. It 
was organized in May, 1843, when that part of the island was 



400 



IIISTORV OF RICIUrOND COUNTY. 



peopled bj^ the families of metropolitan wealth, enterprise and 
social distinction. The first house of worship was a modest 
frame building standing on the west side of the avenue, nearly 
opposite the present church and in the midst of a natural growth 
of young forest trees. The corner stone of this church was 
laid July 14, 1843. William H. Aspinwall, Levi Cook and W. 
B. Townsend were the building committee. The first wardens 
were Charles M. Sinionson and William H. Aspinwall; and the 
vestrymen were Levi Cook, James U. Boardman, M. D., W. B. 
Townsend, W. D. Cuthbertson, Lewis Lyman, D. B. Allen, W. 
A. Fountain and W. H. White. The cornerstone of the present 




.J- 



ST. JOHN'S CHURCH AND RECTORY. 

church was laid November 10, 1869. This is a handsome stone 
building, of ample dimensions and graceful proportions and, is 
in keeping with the culture and resources of the congregation. 
The material of which it is built is mostly a rose colored granite, 
from Lyme, Conn., with string jpieces and ornamentations of 
Belleville stone. The architecture is of the Gothic style of 
the XIV th century. The windows are of stained glass, with 
designs highly executed from Italian religious art. The great 
south transept window is a memorial of the beloved physi- 
cian, Dr. Anderson, who was long a celebrity at quarantine 



HISTORY OF mClIMOND COUNTV. 401 

and in St. John's. The north side window in the chancel is 
a figure of surpassing loveliness, a memorial of the daughter 
of John Appleton, one of the most munificent and devoted 
friends of the parish, who is himself memorialized in an elab- 
orate mural tablet of polished brass, just within the chancel 
arch. The stained glass window architecture is said to be the 
finest specimen of rural church architecture in the diocese. The 
church was consecrated by Bishop Horatio Potter, September 
30, 1871. 

The first rector of this parish was Kingston Goddard, from 
June, 1844, to June, 1847. Later rectors have successively been: 
Alexander G. Mercer, June, 1847, to Sei^tember, 1852; R. M. 
Abercrombie, January, 1853, to February, 1856; John C. Eccles- 
ton, April, 1856, to January, 1863; Thomas K. Conrad, March, 
1863, to October, 1866; and John C. Eccleston, D.D., again from 
1867 to the present time. 

In 1862 a commodious rectory was built adjoining the church. 
A parish building, known as the Mercer Memorial chapel, was 
erected on the same plot of ground in 1865. Within the last, 
sixteen years one hundred and fifty thousand dollars have been 
spent in parish improvements. 

John C. Eccleston, M.D., D.D.— Probably no man on Staten 
Island has attracted by his talents a greater amount of atten- 
tion, or possesses a reputation more to be envied than does the 
Eev. John C. Eccleston, M.D., D.D., rector of St. John's 
church, Clifton. The doctor has enjoyed a pastorate of more 
than twenty-six years in his present pulpit and during that 
time his energy and eloquence have done much to stamp his in- 
dividuality upon the community in which he lives. 

Doctor Eccleston was born in Kent county, Md., May 6, 1828. 
He is a descendant of the Ecclestons who came from the village of 
Ecclestown in England, with the first Maryland colonists, tak- 
ing an active part in the revolutionary struggles, by means of 
which they forfeited large landed estates in Great Britain. His 
father was judge of the supreme court of Maryland, and his 
uncle, Samuel Eccleston, archbishop of Baltimore and Metro- 
politan of the Roman Catholic church in tiie United States. 

The doctor graduated from the Roman Catholic college of St. 
Sulpice in Baltimore, July 20, 1847, and on March 31, 1850, re- 
ceived the degree of M. D. from the University of Maryland. 
For a year he followed the medical profession in the city of 
36 



402 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Baltimore, after which he entered the General Theological Sem- 
inary in New York city. From there he graduated June 27, 
1854. On August 22d of the same year, he was ordained to the 
diaconate by Bishop Alonzo Potter, and on April 11, 1855, he 
assumed priestly orders. 

He received his first call to St. John's church, February 27, 
1856, assumed the rectorship of Trinity church, Newark, N. J., 
January 1, 1863, became rector of St. James church, Great Bar- 
rington, Mass., May 1, 1866, and returned to St. John's, at 
Clifton, November 1, 1867. The new stone church consecrated 
September 30, 1871, was ei-ected largely through his energy and 
enterprise. The doctor has been twice married and has four 
children still living. His brother. Doctor J. H. Eccleston, is 
the distinguished rector of Emmanuel church, Baltimore, Md. 

Doctor Eccleston' s preaching is forcible and eloquent. Large 
numbers of people from all denominations and from all parts of 
the island are regularly attracted to his church by the power 
of his reasoning and by the magnetism of his manner. He has 
no sympathy with wrong doing, never shrouds his true meaning 
in mystical language and is as independent in his private and 
political life as he is in the pulpit. His secular lectures which 
have been many, are characterized by a strength and vivacity 
equalled only by their instructive and useful qualities, and his 
thirty-one years of public speaking have won him a distin- 
guished place among the orators of his day. On Staten Island 
he is universally known and his name is connected with every 
really aggressive movement. Free in lending his influence to 
the advancement of everj^thing that is noble, free and good, the 
doctor has made for himself many lasting and powerful friends, 
and the memory of his good works will long survive to testify 
of him. We take pleasure in presenting the citizens of Rich- 
mond county with this short sketch of one of the oldest and 
most respected of its living clergymen. 



The organization of St. Paul's church was effected at a meet- 
ing held at the Planters liotel, Tompkinsville, March 11, 1833. 
Previous to that time members of the Episcopal denomination 
attended religious services at St. Andrew's ; and for a time ser- 
vices were lield in private houses here, by the Rev. Samuel 
Haskell. The first officers elected were Henry Drisler and 
Richard S. Gary, wardens ; and Daniel Van Duzer, Sr., Caleb 




JOHN C. ECCLESTON 



v*\o\'(\t^ \. ^\\.^%yv.\)-\^ u. 1. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 403 

T. Ward, Richard Harcourt, Charles Simonson, George Brown, 
Daniel Simonson, Richard Sharrott and Henry B. Metcalfe, 
vestrymen. The Rev. F. H. Cuming was called to the rector- 
ship at a salary of S300 a j^ear and ferry tickets for himself and 
family to pass freely between the island and New York, where 
he resided. He commenced his services here in July, 1833. 
The number of communicants became during that year, seven- 
teen, and measures were set on foot to build a church. Success 
attended those efforts, and the corner stone of an edifice was 
laid on the 3d of July, 1834, Bishop Onderdonk officiat- 
ing. Rev. Mr. Cuming resigned on the 3d of May, 
the same year, and Rev. William Curtis was called in 
his stead. He entered upon his duties August 1st, fol- 
lowing, and his labors were cut short by his death on the 
21st of the same month. He was buried by the parish in St. 
Andrew's churchyard. The first church was built upon ground 
given by Caleb T. Ward, on what was then Richmond avenue, 
now known as St. Paul's avenue. The church was consecrated 
June 22, 1835, and was used for religious services until 1870. 
Its cost was $5,831.34. The financial condition of the church 
was for many years considerably depressed, and finally the 
building was sold under a foreclosure in 1861. It was jjur- 
chased by Mr. Ward, and by him resold to the church on easy 
terms of jmyment, Still later, this generous benefactor of the 
church. Judge Albert Ward, proposed to erect at his own ex- 
pense a handsome stone church and donate it to the parish, on 
certain conditions, which were accepted, and the corner stone 
of the new church was laid September 29, 1866. The condi- 
tions referi-ed to were that the parish should build a rectory 
and furnish the new churcli. This building of the new church 
was completed in 1870, and the first service held in it on Easter 
day, April 17th. The church was formally consecrated May 
31st, following, the corporate name having been changed to " St. 
Paul's Memorial Church, Edgewater." The " memorial " was 
with respect to Miss Mary Mann Ward, a sister of the donor. 
The building is one of very substantial architecture and con 
struction, and is said to have cost about $50,000. 

The rectors acting in this church have been : William H. 
Walter, 1836 to December 3, 1838, except during a leave of ab- 
sence from November, 1837, to the time of his resignation, his 
place meanwhile being temporarily filled by Grordon Winslow 



404 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

and R. C. Shimeall ; William Walton, December 27, 1839, to 
October 1, 1843 ; Gordon Winslow, May 1, 1844 to April, 1852 ; 
Charles A. Maison, July, 1852, to April, 1857; E. H. Cressy, 
October, 1859, to November, 1861 ; T. W. Punnett, November, 
1861, to February, 1875 ; diaries B. Coffin, April, 1875, to his 
death, July 10, 1875; Albert U. Stanley, November, 1875, to 
May 1, 1882 ; and Henry N. Wayne, July 1, 1882, the present 
rector. 

Of St. Luke's Church, Rossville, we have been able to pro- 
cure only a meagre account. The parish register appears to have 
been imperfectly kept. The church edifice was ei-ected in 1843, 
and its first rector was Rev. C. D. Jackson ; he officiated some 
six or seven years, when he died in Westchester county. He 
was succeeded by the Rev. William H. Rees, who officiated 
about five years, when he died at Newark, N. J. The next rec- 
tor of whom we find any account was the Rev. Jesse Pound, 
who died in the parish after a service of some nine or ten years. 
He was succeeded by the Rev. Henry H. Bean, who, after sev- 
eral years' service, also died in the parish. There have been 
other rectors, but there is no record of them. The present rec- 
tor is the Rev. William Wardlaw. 

The Church of the Holy Comforter, located at Eltingville, was 
opened for worship October 8, 1865, its erection being largely 
due to the efl'ortsof Mr. Albert Journeay, assisted by the ladies 
of the neighborhood. The building was designed by Mr. Up- 
john, the architect of Trinity church. The parish was organized 
October 24, 1865 ; the incorjwrators were Albert Journeay, 
James Guyon, Edward Banker, Jr., S. K. Raymond, John W. 
Mersereau, Jr., and Charles E. Robins. The church edifice was 
consecrated May 29, 1868. 

The rectors have been as follows : J. W. Payne, from Novem- 
ber 29, 1865, to August 9, 1866 ; W. W. Holley, from October 
4, 1866, to October 24, 1867 ; W. Leacock, from February 26, 
1868, to September 23, 1868 ; Newland Maynard, from Septem- 
ber 27, 1869. to May 23, 1871; and Frederick M. Gray, from 
August 1, 1873, to 

Christ Church, New Brighton, was organized on the 9th of 
July, 1849, its nucleus being an offshoot from St. Paul's at 
Tompkinsville. The nave of the present church was built in 
1850, the transepts being completed at a later date. The first 
wardens were William Pendleton and David A. Comstock; and 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 405 

the first vestrymen were George Wotherspoon, Samuel T. Jones, 
Travis B. Cutting, Mattliew Morgan, George E. Kunhardt, Peter 
Stuyvesant, Philip P. Kissam and Charles D. Rhodes. A hand- 
some Sunday school building was completed in 1 874. The church 
is a frame building, and stands in the midst of tastefully ar- 
ranged and well kept grounds on the west side of Franklin 
avenue and just south of Second street. The Sunday school 
building stands in the rear, on the same grounds. 

The first rector of this church was Pierre P. Irving, who be- 
gan with the early existence of the church, and continued for a 
term of twenty-five years. During the last two or three years 
he was assisted in his duties by Hamilton Lee. The present 
-rector, George D. Johnson, succeeded him in 1875, and has min- 
istered to the church since that time. The present number of 
communicants is about three hundred, representing about two 
hundred and twenty families. The present officers are : L. Sat- 
terlee and H. E. Alexander, wardens ; and W. P. Raynor, E. 
Wiman, A. Rich, E. B. Crowell, W. H. ISIotley, N. S. Walker, 
C. Whitman and R. I. Fearon, vestrymen. 

The establishment of the Baptist church on the island was due 
to the efforts of missionary work on the part of New York city 
pastors and licentiates. The first meetings of which we have any 
knowledge were held by Reverends John Gano and Elkanah 
Holmes in the summer of 1785. They were open air meetings, 
and were held at different i^laces on the eastern shore and inter- 
ior of the island. Evening meetings were held in barns and pri- 
vate dwellings. The Methodists were in the meantime pursuing 
a similar course, occupying neighboring hills and orchards with 
their open air meetings, and sometimes the same buildings for 
their evening services. An important revival attended these 
early efforts. A church, under the name of the " First Baptist 
Church of Staten Island," was constituted on the BOtli of De- 
cember, 1785. This was composed of the following persons, 
who had been baptized during the autumn preceding : Belichy 
Fountain, Anthony Fountain, Jr., Hannah Fountain, Nicholas 
Cox, Margaret Kruser, Mary Van Name, Mary Lockerman, 
Susannah Wandel, Jacob Van Pelt, John Wandel, Jr., Charles 
Van Name and John Lockerman. 

The Rev. Elkanah Holmes became the pastor of this church, 
and continued as such about ten years. Rev. Daniel Steers was 
ordained on or about August 23, 1797, and at once became" pas- 



406 HISTOEY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

tor of this church, which he continued to serve nntil about 1808, 
when he resigned. He was succeeded by Rev. Nicholas Cox, 
wlio had been ordained to the ministry, but died shortly after- 
ward, when the pulpit was supplied by diiferent ones for a year 
or more. 

Up to this time meetings had been held iu the open air, pri- 
vate dwellings and school houses. In the early part of 1809 it 
Avas resolved to build a meeting house. This resolution was 
carried into effect, and the house being sufficiently completed, 
was opened for divine worship on the 24th of the following Oc- 
tober. The lirst sermon in it was delivered by Rev.W. Parkin- 
son, of the First Baptist church in New York. This building 
was about twenty by thirty feet in size, and it stood on the side 
of the hill at the junction of the old Clove road and the Rich- 
mond road, in the town of Southfield. Though the building has 
long since disapjjeared, its site is still marked by the graves 
which were made near it, of some of the oldest members of the 
denomination. This was the only edifice owned by this denomi- 
nation in the county up to the year 1830. It was known as the 
" Old Clove Church," and for many years, even after the date 
mentioned, was the favored center to which members of the sect 
came to worship from many of the surrounding villages. 

Rev. James Bruce commenced his pastorate here. May 1, 1810, 
and was ordained at the First church in New York, on the 21st 
of June following. He was then a young man, and soon en- 
deared himself to the church by his efforts as a faithful and 
earnest pastor. His career was cut short by death in February, 
1811. Rev. Samuel Carpenter was called in September follow- 
ing, and was pastor of the church until his resignation in March, 
1813. Different ministers supplied the pulpit now until the 
pastorate of Elder Robert F. Randolph, of Samptown, N. J., 
which began August 6, 1817. He resigned in the spring of 1819, 
and in May of that year was succeeded by Thomas B. Steven- 
son, then a licentiate. Baptisms were at that time frequently 
performed on the shore near John Lockerman's farm at Mari- 
ner's Harbor, as well as on the shore on the south side of the 
island. Mr. Stevenson was ordained on the 2oth of August, 
1819, and continued to labor successfully with this congrega- 
tion until August, 1822, when he resigned to become a mission- 
ary. After another period of unsettled supply the pulpit was 
filled by Arma R. Martin, a licentiate of Bethel Baptist church 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 4U7 

of New York for several months from October 5, 1823. He was 
finally settled, on a salary of three hundred dollars a year and 
some perquisites in the line of provisions for family use. He 
was ordained June 9, 1824. At this time the membership of the 
church numbered fifty persons, consisting of fifteen males and 
thirty-live females. 

The work of the church now moved steadily forward. Meet- 
ings were held in the neighborhood of Rossville, then known as 
the "West Quarter.'' A parsonage, standing opposite the 
church, was purchased during the first year of Mr. Martin's 
pastorate, and the final payment on it was made in December, 
1827. The history of the church was uneventful during a 
period of several years, except that the Mariners' Harbor mem- 
bers grew stronger in their desire for a church building nearer 
their homes, and in 1830 succeeded in erecting one at Granite- 
ville. In May, 1834, the membership of the church was 
seventy-six. Mr. Martin's pastorate closed with his death, 
October 26, 1835. 

Rev. Samuel White was called and became the pastor of this 
church June 1, 1836. Under his ministrations the membership 
increased until in 1840 it reached one hundred and thirty-four. 
In 1841 however, it was reduced to ninety-three, by the with- 
drawal of the church at Graniteville. The old church now fell 
into a decline, and for several years was barely able for a part 
of the time to maintain regular Sabbath services. Elder White 
was assisted in the few last years of his life by supplies who 
preached in the branch church and part of the time in the Old 
Clove church. He died May 3, 1863, after a pastorate of twenty- 
five years, during which time he had baptized two hundred and 
fifty-two jiersons, of whom several became licentiates or or- 
dained ministers. In much of his revival work he was assisted 
by the Rev. Mr. Arthur, father of Ex-President Chester A. 
Arthur. Mr. AVhite's remains were deposited in the family 
vault in the grounds of the church at Graniteville, on the Gun 
Factory road. 

During the summer of 1863, Mr. Patterson, a son-in-law of 
Mr. White, became pastor of the church and continued in that 
cai)acity until May, 1865. Following that date the church had 
supplies for several years, and during that time its life seemed to 
dissolve into that of the branch church at Graniteville. In 
1868, the title to the Old Clove church became vested. la tka 



408 HISTORY OF RICHJIOND COUNTY. 

heirs of Mr. White in liquidation of a claim which he had long 
held against the church. The building was afterward used as a 
school house for several years, but in 1877 it was taken down, 
and a local writer of its history very appropriatelj'^ says : 
"Only the crumbling, moss-covered stones which mark the 
resting places of the long-buried baptist dead remain, as fitting 
symbols to mark the spot where died the fairest, brightest, 
fondest hopes of the early converts and the mother cluarch. 
Should not the denomination at least secure and preserve this 
site, this resting place of the baptist dead ? " 

A new house of worship was built by the old church on a site 
at Graniteville about half a mile east of the "North" church. 
This is the building which stands on the " Gun Factory road." 
It was opened for worship in April, 1842, the Rev. Spencer H. 
Cone i>reaching the first sermon. This branch of the old 
"Clove" seemed to prosper for a time, but after the death of 
Mr. White it fell into decline. From 1867 to 1870 it was seldom 
opened for worship. Mr. Waters was employed a few months 
in the latter year. John A. Wilson preached dui'ing the latter 
part of 1871, to May, 1872, and Henry Willels followed a short 
time. In September, 1872, Duncan Young became pastor and 
continued three years. Rev. Jackson Ga Nun labored eight 
months, beginning in January, 1876. John B. Palvert, in 
December, 1877, began serving as a supply, after the house had 
been closed over a year. He remained till July, 1879. James B. 
Drysden and George Nock held services in tlie church for short 
periods, but no services have been held in it since 1880. About 
1882 the society disbanded. The later history of this church 
seems to have been a race between it and its child the " North " 
church which afterward became the "Park" church, in which 
the old church, though for a time running well, was by the 
logic of circumstances obliged at last to give up the prize of 
existence. 

About the year 1810 meetings were held bj' the Baptist de- 
nomination in the vicinity of Howland's hook. These early meet- 
ings were often held in tlie orchard on John Lockerman's farm, 
just west of Summerfield avenue, and in other available locali- 
ties near there. A number of members of the Old Clove church 
lived in this vicinity, and they began several years later to con- 
sider the question of having a church more conveniently located. 
Regular services were begun in June, 1825, on Sabbath after- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 409 

noons, in tlie school house at Mariners' Harbor. A piece of 
ground for a building site, on the Richmond road at Granite- 
ville, was given by Jedediah Winant in 1829, and a building 
thirty-one by forty-one feet, and twenty feet high, was erected 
on it. This was completed and duly opened on the22d of July, 
1830. It stood upon what is now the burial ground known 
as "Hillside Cemetery " on the Richmond road directly oppo- 
site from the school house at Graniteville. The pulpit was sup- 
plied on Sabbath afternoons and alternate Sabbath evenings by 
the pastor of the Old Clove churcli. The first Baptist Sunday 
school on the island was organized in this church on the third 
sabbath of August, 1832. 

This branch soon began to break away from the mother 
church. In 1836 it had a communion service and officers by it- 
self. The question of separation from the old church was fre- 
quently under discussion, and such a step was finally resolved 
upon at a meeting February 3, 1841. The "North Baptist 
Church" was accordingly organized with fifty-three members, 
March 1, 1841. The Rev. J. T. Seely became its pastor on the 
4th of May. During his pastorate a remarkable revival oc- 
curred, known as the " revival in the old Rubber B"'actory " at 
what is now West N"ew Brighton. Fifty-one baptisms were the 
result of this. The members of this church now resolved to 
build a house of worship at Port Richmond. This, a modest 
frame building, was erected, and it was dedicated February 
27, 1843. Services were then held in both houses; at Granite- 
ville in the morning and Port Richmond in the evening. This 
arrangement continued until February 15, 1857, when the Gran- 
iteville edifice became the property of the Mariners' Harbor 
church, organized at that time. 

The labors of Mr. Seely closed August 1, 1845, and he was 
succeeded by Rev. David Morris, whose service continued till 
May 1, 1849. He was followed by Rev. B. C. Townsend, who 
served the church from May, 1850, to May, 1852. Aaron Jack- 
son, the fourth pastor, gaye nine months' service. John Seage 
became pastor in May, 1853, and resigned in May, 1856. He 
was followed by Z. P.'vVild, May 1, 1856, to May 15, 1858, dur- 
ing which time, February 15, 1857, forty-eight members were 
dismissed to constitute the Mariners' Harbor Baptist church. 
The energies of tlie Port Riclimond cliurch were now concen- 



410 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

trated. ni)on its own locality, though it was weakened by the 
witlidrawal of so large a number. 

George W. Dodge became pastor in August, 1858, and re- 
signed in June, 1859. In December, I860, W. A. Barnes became 
pastor, but was dismissed about two months later. The out- 
look of the church at this time seemed dark, and for several 
years its existence seemed a struggle between life and death, 
in which the chances trembled in the balance. IS^ot until the 
summer of 1864 did the church enjoy the ministrations of a 
settled pastor, though for a while the Rev. W. B. Schrope 
served them as a supply. Extreme depression followed, in 
which the church was on the point of deeding its property to 
the Mariners' Harbor church and disbanding its membership. 
But the members aroused themselves to make one more effort 
for existence, and the Rev. D. B. Patterson was invited to 
the vacant pulpit, July 24, 1864. He resigned early in 1866. 
At this time the membership of the church had become reduced 
to thirty-one, and the house was closed for several months. 
Rev. D. W. Sherwood was called to the pastorate in December, 
1866, and resigned in 1870, having been instrumental in holding 
the church to its status and perhaps giving it a new impulse for- 
ward. S. G. Smith was pastor from October 1870 to 1877. Dur- 
ing this time the church hud grown stronger; tif ty-seven persons 
had been baptized, and the church edifice remodelled, at an ex- 
pense of $13,000. The name was changed to the Park Baptist 
Church, of Port Richmond, and the present brick church was 
erected. 

Rev. A. S. Gumbart became pastor April 1, 1878, was ordained 
May 16th following, and resigned in June, 1880, having received 
forty-nine members into the church. Rev. J. J. Muir entered 
upon his duties as pastor in March, 1880. He was succeeded in 
1883 by Rev. J. B. L'Hommedieu, the present pastor, who be- 
gan his service in that capacity October 1, 1883. Since that date 
sixty-eight persons have been added to the church, and the 
outlook is encouraging. Thomas Davis, jr., has for several 
years been sui:)erintendent of the Sunday school. 

February 15, 1857, forty-eight members were dismissed, at 
their own request, from the North Baptist church to organize 
the church at Mariners' Harbor. This church was constituted 
by a council held March 12, 1857, and a full oi-ganization effected 
by a meeting at the house of George F. Thompson on the first 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 411 

of April following. The first trustees were David Van Name, 
Geoi'ge F. Thompson, William Lisseriden, John Thompson and 
David Van Name, Jr. The first deacons were George F. Thomp- 
son, William Lissenden and Jacob Van Pelt. The corner stone 
of a new edifice was laid September 9, 1857, and the building 
having been completed was dedicated May 5, 1858. Meetings 
were held in the old Graniteville church until the completion 
of the new one. The cost of this building and grounds was 
about 810,000. The Graniteville church had been granted to 
this society by a resolution of the North church made January 
17, 1857. In 1868 the church was cleared of debt. The church 
has enjoyed a wholesome degree of prosperity, and the present 
membership numbers about two hundred. The successive 
ministers who have served it have been : Z. P. Childs, 1857 to 
1858 ; J. N. Tolman, 1858 to 1861 ; G. P. Folwell, 1861 to 1862; 
J. L. Benedict, 1862 to 1864 ; J. J. Brouner, 1864 to 1869 ; W. 
B. Harris, 1869 to 1872 ; J. W. Taylor, 1872 to 1875 ; C. W. 
Hull, 1875 to 1877 ; W. R. Moore, November, 1877, to the present 
time. 

As early as 1826 meetings began to be held by the Baptists 
in private houses in different parts of the town of Westfield. 
At different times within a few years such meetings were held 
at the houses of Edward Weir in Pleasant Plains, Mrs. 
Gillatta Murray in Rossville, Israel Journeay and Mrs. Cath- 
erine Ely, and in school houses. The.se meetings were conducted 
under the auspices of the old First Baptist, or "Clove" 
church. 

The corner stone of a branch church at Kreischerville was laid 
March 31, 1847, and the building dedicated ou the 16th of Sep- 
tember following. It was a frame building, thirty bj' forty-two 
feet. Tills remained as a branch or chapel, until the year 1848, 
when the " West Baptist Church of Staten Island" was organ- 
ized on the 24th of May. The constituent members were Israel 
Journeay, Aaron Van Name, Edward Weir, Catherine Journeay, 
Gillatta Murray, Catherine Ely, Alice A. Ellis, Phoebe Andro- 
vette, Malvina Ellis, Mahala Arnett, Sarah Ann Storer, Ann 
Androvette, Hannah Martin and Mary Benedict. A Sunday 
school was opened the first Sunday in May, 1849, with Mrs. 
Catherine Ely, superintendent. 

The first pastor of this church was William Pike, of Haver- 
straw, who, after preaching for a while on probation, entered 



412 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

the pastorate June 1, 1848. John Burnett became pastor No- 
vember 1, 18.'54. His salarj' was S350 and house rent. He also 
preached at Tottenville on stated evenings, in a chapel which 
had been built by Harmon Kingsbniy. Mr. Burnett died 
March 1, 1858. His successor was Thomas W. Conway, who 
was called July 1, and ordained October 20th of the same year. 
He remained till October 30, 1860. December 30, 1859, ten 
members withdrew to form the " South Church" at Tottenville. 
This left the church with a membership of thirty. 

Rev. Arthur Day became pastor of both churches January 1, 
1861 ; and resigned in January, 1863. Supplies followed until 
William James was settled over both churches in January, 
1865, continuing to February, 1866. William B. Harris was 
pastor from February 26, 1867, to March 1, 1869. David Taylor 
was pastor one year from June 1, 1869. The connection be- 
tween this and the South church in ministerial supply, was 
dissolved in 1870. Since then this church has had no separate 
pastor, but has been occasionally supplied by renewal for short 
j)eriods of the association with the South church. 

From 1852 to 1858 Reverends Pike and Burnett of the West 
church, assisted by the Rev. Geo. F. Hendrickson of Perth 
Amboy, held occasional services at different private houses in 
the village of Tottenville, and also in a free chapel which had 
been erected by Harmon Kingsbury, near his grove. Tiie Tem- 
perance hall was secured in the spring of 1859, and services 
were thereafter held in it on Sabbath mornings. After lengthy 
discussion the organization of a church here was effected De- 
cember 11, 1859, by the name of the "South Church of Staten 
Island." The members of this new organization, who had with- 
drawn from the West church, were T. W Conway, John Tucker, 
S. B. Hazelton, George D. Fisher, William Cooley, Isabella 
Fisher, Mary Wrille, Sarah A. Ellis, Maria T. Hazelton, Isa- 
bella Ayer, Melvina Cole, Ann Storer and S. D. Reed. 

The corner stone of a new edifice was laid, and recognition 
services held, Monday, February 8, 1860. The church was sup- 
plied with ministerial service in connection with the West 
church until 1870. The church was cleared of debt in August, 
1871, which hapjiy condition was brought about largely by the 
generous assistance of Mr. John Turner, who himself assumed 
one half the burden, and in addition erected at his own expense 
a lecture room in rear of the church. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 413 

The pulpit was filled by temporary supplies from October 
1871, to September, 1875, when the South and West churches 
were again united in pastoral support under the ministration of 
Isaac W. Brinckerhoff, who continued to serve them till July 
1, 1881. Calvin A. Hare became pastor of the South church 
April 10, 1882, and remained until 1884, when T. Burdette Bott 
was called. The membership now numbers about one hundred. 

The First Baptist church of 'New Brighton has been recently 
organized. The favorable location and the earnest work put 
forth bid fair to establish a large Baptist interest here. 
Rev. J. B. McQuillan was the first pastor. The church was or- 
ganized in June, 1884, with thirteen members. In November 
of the same year the church, having secured a lease of the Uni- 
tarian house of worship on Clinton avenue, e.xtended a call to 
the Rev. J. B. McQuillan, then of Patterson, N. J., to become 
their pastor. His pastoral term began on the first Sabbath in 
January, 1885. A baptistery has been placed in the church, 
and several candidates have been immersed, the first in New 
Brighton for upwards of forty years. The church now num- 
bers thirty-one members. It was duly recognized, according to 
the custom of the denomination, by a council of the Southern 
New York Baptist Association, on the 2d of February, 1886. 
Mr. McQuillan resigned July 1, 1887, and the church is at 
present without a regular pastor. 

The introduction of Methodism on Staten Island is due to 
the persevering efforts of a few zealous individuals connected 
with the denomination in New Jersey and elsewhere. The first 
Methodist sermon preached on the island was in November, 
1771, by Francis Asbury, in the house of one Peter Van Pelt, 
only twelve days after his arrival in America. 

It is to the unwearied labors of Thomas Morrell and Robert 
Cloud, two preachers attached to the Elizabethtovvn circuit, 
that this church is chietiy indebted for its organization. Of 
Morrell it is said that he had been a soldier, and bore upon his 
person scars of wounds received in fighting for his country. 
He was also a man of more than ordinary abilities and acquire- 
ments. Of the local preachers, William Cole was most prom- 
inent, and during the intervals between the visits of the itin- 
erants, frequently officiated in private houses, school houses, 
barns or any other "place that offered. 

On the fifth day of May, 1787, the first Methodist society on 



414 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Staten Island was organized, and the following persons were 
elected trustees to take care of the temporalities of the church, 
viz.: Abraham Cole (at whose house the meeting was held), 
Benjamin Drake and John Hillyer, first class, to serve one year; 
Gilbert Totten, John Slaight and Joseph Wood, second class, 
to serve two years; Joseph Totten, Elias Price and Israel Dis- 
osway, third class, to serve three years. 

Measures were then adopted to erect a house of worship, and 
the following appeal to the Christian community was i^romul- 
gated: 

" To all Charitable, well-disposed Christians of every denom- 
ination of Staten Island. Whereas the Inhabitants on the 
West end of said Island are destitute of any Place of Public 
Worship, so that numbers, more especially of the poorer 
and middling ranks of People who have not Carriages, &c., 
are necessarily precluded from attending the Worship of God 
in a Public manner, their Children also lose the benefit of Pub- 
lic Instruction, and it is to be feared the Consequence will be 
to the rising Generation a settled Contempt for the worship of 
God and the ordinances of the House. 

"To remedy as far as human prudence can Extend the afore- 
said, and many other Inconveniences that might be named, the 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church on said Island 
have chosen trustees agreeable to Law in order to Erect a 
Church for the Performance of Divine Service, and tis Supposed 
by the Blessing of God this may be the means of not only 
benefitting the present Generation, but that Numbers Yet un- 
born may have reason to Praise God for the pious Care of their 
forefathers. But as this will be Attended with a heavy Expence, 
to which the members of said Church are Inadequate, thej^ 
hereby Resi^ectful solicit the Donation of all such who are will- 
ing to promote so Laudable an Undertaking, we therefore the 
subscribers do hereby promise to pay or cause to be paid to the 
said Trustees or any Person Impowered by them to receive it, 
the sums affixed to our Several names, as Witness our Hands 
this Seventh day of June, In the Year of our Lord one Thou- 
sand Seven Hundred and Eighty-seven." 

Then follow the names of eighty-seven contributors, whose 
united subscriptions amount to nearly three hundred and fifty 
dollars. The largest contributors are Gilbert Totten, £8; Israel 
Disosway, £15; Benjamin Drake, £8; Mark Disosway, £5; Peter 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



415 



AVoglom, £6; Joshua Wright, £5; Jacob Reckhow, £5; John 
Androvat, £5; Peter Winant, sr., £4.15; John Slaght. £4.15. 
Among the subscribers we find the names of individuals at- 
tached to otlier churches, suclias Bedells, Swains, Taylors, Lar- 
zeleres, Micheaus, La Tourettes, Mersereaus, Pralls, Con- 
ner, etc. 

It is said of Israel Disosway, that in addition to his subscrip- 
tion, which is the lai'gest on the list, he gave the timber for 
erecting the new chni'ch, out of his own woods. 







WOODROW M. E. CHURCH. 



With the small sum realized bjr the subscriptions just men- 
tioned, the first Methodist church on Staten Island was built on 
the site now occupied by the Woodrow church in Westfield. 
This'building is described as a low, roughly built house, with 
gable to the road, and having small windows and a plain batten 
door, the fastening of which was operated by the old fashioned 
latch-string. The interior showed a unique altar, high backed, 
uncushioned seats, and bare rafters overhead. Its site was 



416 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

amid the natural grandeur of the luxuriant forest, broken by 
scattered clearings and the primitive habitations of a few hardy 
settlers. 

That the trustees took excellent care of the temporalities of 
the church will be perceived from the following extract from 
the original " Day Book : " 

" At a meeting held in the Methodist Church for chosing a 
Saxon to serve for one year in said church to keep said house 
swept and sanded and scraj^ed when the Trustees shall direct, 
and all other necessary dutys of a saxon for the sum of five 
dollars ; Richard Mier was chosen and accepted." Subse- 
quently, the ''saxon" was allowed one shilling "for every 
fire he makes in the stove," additional. 

In 1842 the present church edifice was erected on the site of 
the former. This edifice is considerably larger than the first, 
and encroaches upon some of the graves in the surrounding 
church-yard that were made near the old house. 

This old burial ground contains many old graves of the early 
inhabitants. The first white marble stone erected here, we are 
told, is that to the memory of Rev. Joseph Totten, one of the 
first members of the Methodist church on the island. He was 
for twenty-six years an itinerant preacher of the gospel, and 
died May 20, 1818, while in charge of the society of St. John's 
church at Philadelphia. Immediately in front of the church 
stands a plain marble monument, which marks the grave of one 
of the most deeply revered preachers of the church, well known 
as "old Father Boehni." The monument bears the following 
inscription : 

" Sacred to the memory of Rev. Henry Boehm, born in Lan- 
caster, Pa., June 8, 1775, died on Staten Island, December 28, 
1875. A centenarian, who was for seventy-six years an hon- 
ored and beloved Methodist minister, as eminent for social. 
Christian and ministerial virtues as for longevity : the associate 
of Bishop Asbiiry and his compeers in labors on earth, he now 
rests witli them in heaven." 

On the twelfth day of February, 1822, at a meeting held at 
the house of James Totten, it was unanimously resolved to 
build another house of worship, in the town of Westfield, to be 
called " The Tabernacle." A church appears to have been or- 
ganized, and trustees duly elected. In August, 1823, a public 
meeting was held "in the Tabernacle;" the edifice must there- 



HISTORY OF RICHJIOND COUNTY. 417 

fore have been erected immediately. The building was removed 
several years since, the establishment of churches at Totten- 
ville, so near by, doing away with the necessity for a church 
here. Its site was a few rods southeast of the railroad station 
at Richmond Valley. Some of the foundation stones are still 
lying there. 

The membership of the original church was so large in the 
neighboi'hood of Tottenville that in 1841 it was deemed advis- 
able to organize another society there. This was done, and the 
name "Bethel Church" given to it. A church was erected in 
1842, and the society prospered. The church cost about 
$14,000. It was destroyed by fire on Sunday night, January 
10, 1886. The building at that time, with its furniture, heating 
apparatus and organ, was valued at about $23,000. 

St. Paul's, located also at Tottenville, was organized in 1860. 
Immediate steps were taken to erect a house of worship. The 
corner stone to this was laid September 6, 1861, and the walls 
were rapidly raised, and the building advanced toward comple- 
tion. A debt hung over the church until November 13, 1881, 
when by a liberal effort it was cleared. The debt then amounted 
to $4,500. Among the foremost names on the subscription for 
that purpose and at that time were the following : Mrs. E. P. 
Wood, $1,100 ; David C. Butler, $250 ; Henry Van Name, $200 ; 
Aaron Van Name, $200 ; Paul Van Name, $100 ; Daniel Butler, 
$125 ; John S. Sleight, $100 ; Wesley Patten, $100 ; Sylvester 
Joline, $100 ; Moses J. Van Name, $100. 

The early Methodists did not confine their efforts to the town 
of Westfield; for, not long after they had become domiciled 
there, a small class, under the leadership of Elias Price, who 
afterward became a local jireacher, was organized in the town 
of Northfield, which, in 1802, had expanded sufficiently to 
warrant the creation of a new society, and the erection of a new 
church, which now is recognized as the Asbury church at New 
Springville. For more than thirty years this church was the 
only place of public worship possessed by the Methodists of 
Northfield and Castleton. It was connected in pastoral supply 
with the church at Mariners' Harbor from 1839 to 1849, when 
the latter church .secured a minister independently of this. 

A branch of this church, called Bloomtield church, was estab- 
lished by the laying of its corner stone in June, 1885. It stands 
at the head of Merril avenue, on a plot of ground which was 
27 



418 HISTOKV OF RICHMOND COUKTY. 

given by Joseph Ball, of Bloomlield, and Rev. J. B. Hillyer of 
New Springville. Its erection is mainly due to the labors of 
Messrs. J. B. Hillyer and Thomas Standering, two local preachers 
of the congregation. 

In 1838 those residing along the shore in Castleton and North- 
tield began to agitate the matter of building a new church 
nearer their own residences, and at or near Graniteville. The 
next year Mr. Robert C. Simonson offei'ed a lot of land on the 
Pond road, Port Richmond, as a free gift, if they would erect a 
church thereon. This offer was at once accepted by those re- 
siding in that vicinity, and the proposed church at Graniteville 
was abandoned. 

The church on the Pond road was erected and dedicated early 
in the winter of 1839, the conveyance of the lot from Mr. Simon- 
son being dated December 1, 1839. The Westtield and North 
field charges were divided in 1840, and Daniel Cross became 
the preacher on this circuit, which was called the Northfield 
and Quarantine mission. In 1841 this was again divided and 
made two circuits, that of Northfield comprehending Asbury 
and Mariners' Harbor, while this was known as Quarantine and 
Port Richmond. Of this Rev. R. Lutton became pastor. His 
name appears with those of Benjamin Day and Jefferson Lewis, 
between that date and 1848. They were succeeded by pastors 
as follows: Alexander Gillmore, 1848-49; Charles E. Hill, 1850-i51; 

Kelly, 1852-53; T. Pierson. 1854-55; N. Yansant, 1856-57; 

M. E. Ellison, 1858-59; J. M. Freeman, 1860 61; R. S. Arndt, 

1862-63; J. C. Winner, 1864; J. F. Hurst, 1865-66; Owen, 

part of 1866; T. H. Smith, 1867-69. 

The house erected on the Pond road, now occupied by the 
German Lutheran church, continued to be their house of wor- 
ship until 1853, when they erected the large and commodious 
brick church edifice at the corner of the Shore road and Dongan 
street, West New Brighton. The original building and lot were 
sold April 28, 1853, to the German Evangelical Lutherans for 
the sum of $1,500. The new church took the name of Trinity, 
and was incorporated under that name January 10, 1853, the 
trustees being Jasper G. Codmus, John W. Snedeker, Lewis 
Edwards, Azariah Dunham and John Simonson. The land 
on which the present church and parsonage is built, consti- 
tuted the lots numbered 45 and 46 of the estate of John Bodine, 
Sen., and was purchased of Noyes P. H. Barrett, June 25, 1851, 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 419 

Jasper G. Codmus, John W. Snecleker, Lewis Edwards and 
John Simonson being trustees. It was subsequently discovered 
that the title was defective, inasmuch as the land was con- 
veyed to the above named jiersons individually, and before the 
incorporation; therefore on the 10th day of July, 1869, the same 
individuals quit-claimed the property to the trustees of the 
church, and thus remedied the defect. The bell and clock in 
the tower of this church were procured by the contributions of 
the people residing in its vicinity. The stewards in 1885 were 
William Snedeker, Noah Sellick, William Bamber, T. D. Lyons, 
M. D., Benedict Parker, George Pero, E. L. Kennedy, Ephraira 
Smith, C. E. Surdam, A. H. Richards and J W. Bodine. 

In 1838 the Methodists of Mariners' Harbor resolved, inas- 
much as a church for their accommodation had become a neces- 
sity, to erect one nearer their own homes. Accordingly on the 
6th day of April, 1839, a new society was organized by the 
election of Peter Braisted, Henry Jones, Benjamin B. Kinsey, 
John L. Richards and Daniel Simonson as trustees. The cer- 
tificate of incorporation was recorded on the 4th day of May 
following, and immediately thereafter — that is, on the 11th of 
the same month — a lot was purchased for the consideration 
of $275, and during the following six months the church was 
erected, and on the 1st day of December, 1839 it was dedicated. 
For several years the same preacher served this church, and the 
one on " the Neck" (now Asbury), but in 1849 the connection 
was severed, and each church became independent of the other. 
In 1854 a parsonage was purchased. The membership of the 
church having rapidly increased, it was found necessary to erect 
a new and larger house, which was accordingly done, and the 
new edifice, which has since been known as the '• Summerfield 
Church," was dedicated on the 10th day of October, 1869. The 
old church, which is the southwesternmost building within the 
corx>orate limits of the village of Port Richmond, was sold for 
$1,500, and is now occupied as an African church. 

The new church is nicely finished and the interior tastefully 
furnished. The society rejoices in the fact that it is clear of 
debt. The minister's salary has been raised from $1,000 to 
$1,500, and the church is now ranked as the fourth in the Eliza- 
beth conference district. 

Grace church was originally called the "North Shore Free 
M. E. Church." It was organized under that name, January 



420 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

23, 1867, being then composed of forty-eight persons, the most 
of whom had withdrawn from Trinity M. E. church. The meet- 
ing for organization was lield in the Baptist church at Port 
Richmond, at which place the first Sabbath services of tliis 
church were also held, on the 27th of the same month. At the 
first election of trustees, on the 18th of February, 1867, the 
present name was adopted. The trustees then elected were 
Read Benedict, Ward McLean, John Q. Simonson, William 
Greer, IST. P. H. Barrett, John S. Spragg, William Bamber, Dr. 
Frank G. Johnson and George F. Heal. Previous to the erec- 
tion of the present church a tabernacle, which cost $600, was 
temporarily used for public worship. 

The corner stone of the new church was laid August 1, 1867, 
and the church was dedicated December 29, 1867. The church 
lot is bounded on the north by Bond street, on the south by 
Cornelius street, and on the west or front by Heberton street, 
the land having been purchased of Cornelius B. Mersereaii. The 
building was erected at a cost of about $10,000. 

The pastors of this church have been: Alexander M. Mead, 
1867 to September, 1868; P. D. Day, September 15, 1868, to the 
end of the conference year; John Coyle, 1869 to 1871; A. J. 
Palmer, 1872; J. J. Read, Jr., 1873; W. I. Gill, 1874 to 1876; 
T. H. Landon, 1877; Joseph A. Owen, 1878; J. S. Gilbert, 1879 
to 1881; E. C. Dutcher, 1882 to 1883; R. S. Arndt, 1884 to 
1886. 

In July, 1872, the church known as St. Marks, at Pleasant 
Plains, was dedicated. For a brief period it was considered as 
under the patronage and supervision of the Woodrow church, 
but in 1873 it became an independent organization. 

The Kingsley Methodist Episcopal church, situated on Cebra 
avenue near Saint Paul's avenue, Stapleton, is one of the oldest 
of the denomination on the island. The traditional history, 
strongly supported by documentary evidence, is that Rev. 
Henry Boehm, a minister in the Philadelphia conference of tlie 
Methodist Episcopal church, and stationed at Woodrow, organ- 
ized a class in the spring of 1835, at the house of \Vidow White, 
on "Mud Lane," now known as St. Paul's avenue, and directly 
< ipposite the present site of the church. The names of this class, 
as nearly as can be ascertained, were: Mrs. James White, Wil- 
liam Howard, William Thoon, Mr. and Mrs. Kirby, and Mr. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 421 

and Mrs. Capt, Hart. William Tlioon was made the leader of 
the class. 

Public services were first held at the residence of Mrs. James 
White, the lady above referred to, and afterward, until the first 
church was built, in the "Village Academy." 

The first board of trustees was elected on the 21st, and the 
"Society" was incorporated ou the 22d of July, 1835, under 
the name of the "Methodist Episcopal Churcli of Tompkins- 
ville, Staten Island." The board of trustees consisted of John 
Totten, Josepli Smith, A. C. Wheeler, Henry Cole and Law- 
rence Hillyer. 

The present site of the church is the only one the society lias 
ever owned, it originally consisted of four lots, and was do- 
nated by Mr. Caleb T. Ward, of Stapleton, in December, 1835. 
on condition that it be used only for church purposes. Mr. 
Ward, many years afterward, gave the land in fee to the society, 
and an additional piece of land, so as to bring the site of its 
western boundary to Marion avenue. 

On the 8th of June, 1837, plans for a church building thirty- 
eight by sixty feet were agreed upon, and estimates were re- 
ceived for its erection. The contract was finally awarded to Mr. 
J. H. Quilthot for one thousand one hundred and sixty dollars. 
Mr. Quilthot mysteriously left the place before the house was 
completed, and it is said was never heard of afterward. The 
church, when it was finished, cost the society one thousand five 
hundred dollars. The corner stone was laid about the 1st of 
July, 1837, and the building was completed and dedicated about 
the 1st of September, 1838. 

In 1853 the building of a new church was agitated, the old 
one being considered not well located and unsuitable. Nego- 
tiations were entered into with Mr. Richard Smith for the pur- 
chase of lots located on Richmond road, near Beach street, and 
three hundred dollars was jiaid on them by the trustees of the 
society. When the trustees made application to Mr. Ward for 
the privilege of selling the old site, it was found that in at- 
tempting to buy a new site before the old was sold, they had 
reckoned "without their host," for Mr. Ward refused to re- 
move the proviso in the deed, and so they lost their three hun- 
dred dollars. The idea of a new location was then abandoned, 
but the agitation for a new church continued, until finally, on 
the 28th of May, 1855, the first church building was sold at pub- 



422 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

lie auction. Mr. S. X. Havens was the purchaser, for two hun- 
dred and fifty dollars, and he removed it at once to New 
Brighton, and converted it into a dwelling house, where it still 
stands. The present membership of the Sunday school is one 
hundred and twenty. 

For fifteen years after the organization of this church, it was 
connected with other M. E. churches on the island in what is 
called the "Circuit" plan, making the pastor of this church 
also the pastor of all the others embraced in the circuit. 
With this explanation, the first pastor was Rev. Henry Boehm, 
who had been the travelling companion of Bishop Asbnry, 
one of the first bishops of the M. E. church in the United 
States. Father Boehm, as he was afterward called, lived to the 
advanced age of 100 years, and died on Staten Island the 28th 
of December, 1875. 

The society has had twenty-nine pastors, viz.: Henry Boehm, 
two years; Mulford Day, two years; John S. Begle, one year; 
Mr. Lutton, one year; Mr. Lewis, one year; Benjamin Day, 
two years; George Wisnor, two years; Watters Burroughs, 
two years; John Stephenson, two years; Mr. Miller, one year; 
J. B. Graw, two years; D. F. Reed, one year; Mr. Bishop, eight 
months; Rev. E. Clement, four months; William H. Dickerson, 
one year; A. S. Burdett, fifteen months; C. R. Snyder, twenty- 
one months; S. ]V. Bebour, one year; J. B. Faulks, two years; 
J. Coyle, three years; H. Spellmyer, three years; J. Cowans, 
one year; G. Smith, one year; H. Simpson, two years; T. 
Michael, one year; J. F. Andrew, two years; C. S. Woodruff, 
three years; C. W. McCormick, one year; R. B. Collins, three 
years. 

In April, 1885, this society completed a beautiful and com- 
modious, parsonage at the cost of $3,500, It is situated on the 
west side of the church, and has a commanding view of New 
York bay and Coney Island. The whole church property is 
valued at $15,000. 

The above history was prepared for this work by Rev. R. B. 
Collins, pastor of the church. 

The corner stone of the second church building was laid 
about the 1st of June, 1855, during the ministry of Rev. J. 
B. Graw, and was dedicated to the worship of Almighty God 
in December of the same year. The new church was known, 
thereafter, as the '' Stapleton Methodist Episcopal Church." 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND OOUNTY. 423 

In 1870, during the ministry of the Rev, Henry Spellmyer, the 
church was remodelled, enlarged and refurnished, at a cost of 
$12,000. After these improvements, its name was changed again, 
this time to Kingsley Methodist Episcopal church, Stapleton, 
after Bishop Calvin Kingsley, of the M. E. Church, who while 
perforniing a tour of Episcopal visitation of the world, and 
when on his way home, was attacked by disease and died at 
Berut, Syria, April 6th, 1870. The building has a seating 
capacity for 700 persons, and with a commodious lecture room 
for Sunday school and social meetings, has every covenience in 
the way of room to carry on its work. The present membership 
of the church is one hundred and thirty. The Sunday school 
was organized in 1838, during the ministry of Rev. J. S. Begle. 
William Thorne was the first superintendent. 

So far as is now known, the first of the denomination of Chris- 
tians called Moravians, or United Brethren, on Staten Island, was 
Captain Nicholas Garrison. It is said that the ship which he 
commanded, while on a voyage from Georgia to New York, 
was overtaken by an exceedingly violent storm. Among the 
passengers on board was the Bishop Spangenberg, who remained 
calm and undisturbed amidst the confusion and terror which 
prevailed on board, spending most of the time in earnest prayer. 
This ship was built for the purposes of the Moravian church, 
most of the exjjense having been borne by Bishop Spangenberg 
himself. She made many passages across the ocean, and on a 
subsequent voyage was captured by a French privateer and 
finally wrecked on the coast of Cape Breton island. 

In 1742, David Bruce, a very zealous servant of God, was 
sent to visit the scattered flocks in New York, and on Long 
and Staten islands, and he was probably the first Moravian 
preacher who ever officiated as such on Staten Island. Of those 
most prominent in sustaining this church on the island the 
names of Jacobus and Vettje Van Der Bilt are mentioned in 
September, 1747, at which time the church in America compre- 
hended three localities, viz.. New York city, Staten Island and 
Bethlehem, Pa. After the arrival of the first colony of Mora- 
vians in June, 1742, these three places jointly constituted a 
field in which their evangelists labored. Among those who 
thus labored in these early years were the Brethren David Bruce, 
Aimers, Gambold, Jasper Payne, Thomas Rodgers, Thomas 
Yarrell, Neisser, Richard Utley, Owen Rice and John Wade. 



4-24 



illSTOKY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 



In referring to the early period of this cimrch, Mrs. Bird, 
an aged lady who was interviewed by Professor Anthou years 
ago. said : " Mr. Gambold was a nice old man. The church on 
Christmas eve used to be beautifully decorated with greens, 
and artificial flowers, such as roses, pinks and such like, of their 
own make. The pulpit was covered with flowers from top to 
bottom, and the windows were also adorned. But the custom 
of celebrating Christmas eve was not kept up in later years so 
much as in earlv times." 




OLD MORAVI.^N CHURCH AND PARSONAGE. 

Between 1742 and 1743, about a dozen different clergymen of 
the denominatiuu came occasionally to the island to officiate. 
In 1756 there were only three communicant members on the 
island, viz.: Jacobus Vanderbilt and his wife Vettje or Neiltje, 
and the widow Elizabeth Inyard. The religious services were 
usually held in a school house, which, as some say, stood on 
or near the site of the present church, but as others say, with 
more probability, at the corner of the roads at what is now^ 
called Egbertville. In 1762, Richard Connor, Stephen Martiuo, 
Jr., Tunis Egbert, Jacob Vander Bilt, Aaron Cortelyou, Ma- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 425 

thias Enyard, John Baty, Cornelius Cortelyou, Cornelius 
Vander Bilt, Cornelius Van Deventer, Stephen Martino, Mary 
Stilvvell, Cornelius Martino and Peter Ferine, applied to the 
church authorities at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the estab- 
lishment of a Moravian church on Staten Island. On the 7th 
of July, 1763, the corner stone of a church and parsonage was 
laid, and on the ensuing 7th of December the church was con- 
secrated. The identical building is still standing, and is shown 
in the illustration accompanying this notice. The custom of 
the Moravians at that period was to combine church and par- 
sonage under one roof, hence the arrangement; and un-church- 
like appearance of this old building. The last religious exer- 
cises in this church, before its removal from the original 
site, were held on Thursday, October 26, 1882. They were con- 
ducted by Rev. W. H. Vogler, the pastor of the church. 

The first regularly settled pastor was the Rev. Hector Gam- 
bold, who had come to the field August 17, 1763, and pending 
the completion of the parsonage was accommodated in another 
house. On the 21st of December, he and his family moved into 
the rooms now made ready for his occupancy, and here he found 
his home during his long pastorate, which extended to the year 
1784. Following him for brief periods were James Birkly and 
E. Thorp, and in 1787 Frederick Moehring assumed the pastor- 
ate. His tei-m of service continued until 1793, when he was 
followed by Mr. Birkly again. The latter remained till 1797, 
when Mr. Moehring returned and exercised the pastoral func- 
tion until 1803. His successor that year was Nathaniel Brown, 
who held the position until removed by death in 1813. He was 
a native of Nazareth, Pa., where he was born July 9, 1763, 
two days after the laying of the corner stone of this church. 
His father, Rev. Peter Brown, was for upward of twenty years 
a missionary of the United Brethren on the island of Antigua, 
and he had himself been a missionary to the island of Jamaica, 
whither he was sent in 1789. His stay there was not long, his 
return to the United States following shortly after the death of 
his wife, Elizabeth Chitty. He afterward married Anna Cath- 
erine Frederica Unger, in Maryland, about two years before he 
came to this charge. He was followed by John C. Bechler, from 
1813 to 1817, and others followed successively as named : George 
A. Hartmann, from 1817 to 1837 ; Ambrose Rondthaler, from 
1837 to 1839 ; H. G. Clauder, from 1839 to 1852 ; Bernhard de 



426 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOXD COUNTT. 



Schweinitz, from 1852 to 1854 ; Amadeus A. Reinke, from 1854 
to 1860 ; Edwin T. Senseinan, from 1860 to 1862 ; Eugene Leib- 
ert, from 1862 to 1867; Francis F. Hagen, from 1867 to 1870 ; 
William L. Lennert, from 1870 to 1876; William H. Vogler, 
from 1876 — present incumbent. 

The early dates and events given above have been derived 
chiefly from denominational sources, the I'ecords of the church 
having been destroyed during the I'evolution, when some Brit- 
ish soldiers forcibly entered the parsonage at night, and after 




MORAVIAN CHURCH, NEW DORP. 



w^antonly destroying furniture and other articles belonging to 
the occupant, carried off the archives of the infant church. 
About the same time, probably on the same night, the house 
of Capt. Christian Jacobson, in the vicinity of the church, 
was also entered, and he was killed by being shot. He was 
an eminently pious man, and captain of the Moravian ship 
" Irene," after the retirement of Captain Garrison. 

The society was incorporated April 15, 1808. The land on 
which the church was erected was sold by John Baty to Thomas 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 427 

Yarrell, the minister, and Henx»y Van Vleek, of New York city, 
and Cornelius Van Deventer and Ricbard Conner, of Riclnnond 
county, June 19, 1763, for £25 10s. This parcel of ground con- 
tained live and a half acres, more or less, and was boifnded on 
the southwest by Cornelius Cortelyou, northwest and northeast 
by John Baty and southeast by the King's highway. A deed 
of contirmation was given for the same, to the representatives 
of the denomination, by Edward Baty, executor of his father, 
John Baty, March 2, 1790. 

The present church edifice was erected in 1845, being conse- 
crated May 15th of that .year. The old church was re-arranged 
for school purposes and dwelling apartments in 1851. Mr. N. 
J. Ostrander, superintendent of the cemetery, moved into a 
part of the house in 1872. 

The old church has the honor of having been the first house 
of worship on the island in which an organ was used. This 
statement is made on the authority of an old lady whose mem- 
ory extended back into the pre-revolutionai'y time. 

The Sunday school first organized July 19, 1829, has con- 
tinued to flourish to the present time. On the 31st day of Au- 
gust, 1878, the chapel and Sunday school building at the Four 
Corners was dedicated. It was built on land donated for 
the purpose by Mr. Cornelius Du Bois; the lot is one hundred 
feet square. The whole j)remises are estimated to be worth over 
seven thousand dollars. 

The donations of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt to this 
church of his forefathers have been munificent. When the 
present church edifice was erected, he contributed the sum of 
one thousand dollars toward its completion. On the 20th day 
of December, 1865, he gratuitously conveyed to the trustees of 
the "United Brethren's Church on Staten Island," eight and 
a half acres of land on the east side of the original five and 
a half acres, and on the 30th day of October, 1868, about forty- 
six acres more on the north and west sides thereof. A new 
parsonage, a very handsome building of modern style, was 
erected by the gift of William H. Vanderbilt in 1880, and Mr. 
Vogler moved into it on the 21st of December of that year. 
In 1882 Mr. Vanderbilt also purchased property of Mrs. Susan 
Jane Fountain, comprising about four acres, with the buildings 
on it, at a cost of five thousand dollars, and presented it to 
the trustees of the church on condition that certain improve- 



428 irrsTORY of Richmond county. 

merits should be made, which conditions were accepted. This 
stands on the opposite side of the Todt Hill road from the par- 
sonage, and was given for a residence for the superintendent of 
the cemetery. By this accession to the church propery its line 
of frontage along the Richmond road was extended to nearly 
four thousand feet in length. The old church was moved back 
to its present site, and protected by paint and repairs to pre- 
serve it against the encroachments of time and the elements, 
while the surroundings were imiDroved and beautified. Up to 
that time it was estimated that the Vanderbilt family had made 
gifts to this society, in cemetery property, buildings and im- 
provements to the amount of thirty-seven thousand dollars. In 
addition to this, the society received by bequest of William H. 
Vanderbilt, whose will bears date September 25, 1884, and whose 
death occurred December 8, 1885, the princely gift of one hun- 
dred thousand dollars. 

The first Roman Catholic church on Sraten Island was organ- 
ized on the first day of April, 1839, at New Brighton. For some 
time prior to this, however, a few individuals professing this 
faith, assembled regularly every week in a small apartment of 
the '■■ Gun Factory," an establishment which stood at the corner 
of Richmond terrace and Lafayette avenue, and consisted of the 
factory proper and a row of brick two-story cottages. The 
ground on which the church ^St. Peter's) was built, was do- 
nated for the purpose by the "New Brighton Association," and 
will revert when it ceases to be used for a church of that faith. 

The first pastor was Rev. Ildefonso Medrano, a native of Old 
Spain ; he remained until December, 1845, and was succeeded by 
Rev. John Shanahan, whose bi-ief pastorate terminated in August, 
1846. Rev. James Rosevelt Bailey was the next pastor for a 
still briefer period, from August to December, 1846. He was 
afterward bishop of Newark, and later, archbishop of Balti- 
more. Then came Rev. Patrick Murphy, who was pastor from 
March, 1846, to February 11, 1848, when he died of yellow fever, 
and was interred under the altar. He was immediately suc- 
ceeded by his brother. Rev. Mark Murphy, who was succeeded 
by the Rev. James L. Conron, in August, 1852. He continued un- 
til within a few years of the present time. Rev. John Barry 
has since been pastor of the church. 

The two brothers Murphy were remarkably quiet, unassum- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 429 

ing, and faithful men. In the church is a mural tablet to the 
memory of Patrick, in the following words : 

" Hie Jacet 
In Spem Beatse Resurrectionis 

Eev^us Patricius Murphy, 

Presbyter Primus, ut creditur, 

Qui in hac Insula Mortuus est. 

In Hibernia natus juxta oppidum 

Enniskillen, Seminarii S*^ Maria 

Ad Montes Alnminus, et in Neo- 

Eboraco ordinatus, pastor 

Ecclesise hujus et Insulge 

Totius Constitutus est. Ubi 

Morum suavitate, Vitae integritate, 

Zelo et eloqnentia ])ro Deo et 
Tancta Fide, ira se commendavit ut 
Ab ommibus vere bonus pastor, et 
Quasi Apostolus Insulfe habere tur, 

Labore tandem et morbo gravi. 

Oppressus, Anno aetatis su?e 30™o- 

Meuse post ordinationem 15™°- die llmo- 

Februarii 1848, animani Deo reddidit, 

Memoriam sui relinquens non cito 

Perituram, sed qute diu inter 

Fideles in benedictione 

Servabitur. 



Requiescat in Pace." 

( Translation. ) 

Here lies, 

In the hope of a blessed resurrection, 

Reverend Patrick Murphy, 

Believed to be the first priest 

Who died on this Island. 

Born in Ireland, near the town of 

Enniskillen, graduate of Mount St. Mary's Seminary, 

And ordained in New York, and 

Appointed pastor of this Church, and 

Of this whole Island, where, 

By the amiability of his disposition and integrity of his life, 



430 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Zeal and eloquence for God, and 

Holy faith, he so commended himself, that 

By all he was considered a truly good 2>astor, and 

As it were, the Apostle of the Island. 

At length, worn down by labor and a fatal disease. 

His soul returned to God, 

In the thirtieth year of his age, and the 

Fifteenth month after his ordination, 

February the 11th, 1848 ; 

Leaving a memory not soon to be 

Forgotten, but which shall long remain 

Among the faithful in benediction. 



May he rest in peace. 

Rev. John Barry. — Wo face is more familiar upon the streets 
of Staten Island than that of Rev. Father John Barry, whose 
residence of twenty seven years in Richmond county has re- 
sulted in great benefit, not only to the church with which he is 
connected, but to the community at large. 

Father Barry was born in Cork, Ireland, January 6, 1830. 
He graduated from "St. Vincent's Seminary," in that city, in 
1850, and in the following year came to New York city. Shortly 
after his arrival he entered "St. Joseph's Seminary," at Ford- 
liam, N. Y., from which he was ordained to the priesthood in 
1854. After his ordination he was appointed by Archbishop 
Hughes first assistant at Old St. Patrick's cathedral, and re- 
mained in this iwsition for five years, serving also during the 
latter portion of the term as chaplain and secretary to the arch- 
bishop. It was while he held this honorable and important post 
that the celebrated controversy between Archbishop Hughes and 
Hon. Erastus Brooks took place. Father Barry was the bearer 
of the bishop's letters to the ^'Courier mtd Enquirer.'''' Dur- 
ing this time also the cornerstone of the new cathedral was laid. 
Father Barry acting as deacon on the occasion. His valuable 
services were shortly afterward rewarded by an appointment to 
the Parish of Rossville, S.I., which then included the villages of 
Richmond and Graniteville, though the archbishop had talked 
of sending him as chaplain to the Sixty-ninth regiment, then 
about to be ordered to the front. 

Father Barry remained in this charge for nineteen years, dur- 




-^^.■^iryA H ~utc>-^'' 





HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 431 

ing which he erected and beautified the Rossville church, pur- 
chased ground for and laid out and consecrated the cemetery. 
He also built the Richmond church, and rebuilt the old chui'ch 
in Graniteville. On the death of Rev. Father Conron he was 
transferred to St. Peter's church, at New Brighton, where he 
spent eight years, and still remains. During this time he has 
completely changed the grounds and beautified the interior of 
the church at great expense, besides lowering the debt of his 
congregation. He also procured as a gift from Mr. William 
McSorley a piece of ground adjacent to St. Peter's cemetery in 
West Brighton, which he added to the cemetery, making it 
the largest and best Catholic burying ground on Staten Island. 
Father Barry is one of the most active, and at the same time 
one of the most cordial of men. He bends his whole thought and 
energy to the task before him. He is at present engaged in collect- 
ing funds for the erection of anew Catholic school in the parish, 
which is intended to be one of the most commodious and at- 
tractive in Richmond county. Essentially a public man, Father 
Barry has continually used his influence for the promotion of 
all that is enobling and that is substantial among the people 
with whom he has lived. The good work which he has ac- 
complished, and the buildings which he has erected for charita- 
ble purposes, will long remain when he has passed forever from 
the scene of his earthly labors, monuments to his usefulness. 



In October, 1852, the parish and congregation of St. Marj^'s 
church, Clifton, were organized by the late Archbishop Hughes, 
and the Rev. J. Lewis was appointed pastor thereof, and has 
continued in the same pastorate ever since. 

Immediately after his appointment, Father Lewis erected a 
temporary chapel and schools at a cost of about $6,000; these 
were used for five years. 

In 1857 Archbishop Hughes laid the corner stone of St. 
Mary's church, on New York avenue, and the edifice was 
completed the following year, and cost about $58,000; it is the 
handsomest Catholic church on Staten Island. 

In 1858 and 1859 the rectory adjoining the church was built 
at a cost of $10,000. 

In 1862 Father Lewis purchased seven acres of land of the 
Parkinson estate in Southfield, and laid it out as a ceme- 



432 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

tery; he also built upoa it a neat cottage for the keeper's 
residence. 

A large school house, an orphan asylum for the parish, a 
residence for the sisters of charity, and another for the male 
teachers of the school were built in 1864, at a cost of about 
$36,000. These schools are among the largest on the island; the 
books show a daily attendance of nearly four hundred pupils, 
who are gratuitously instructed by six sisters of charity under 
the supervision of the pastor. Father Lewis is entitled to com- 
mendation for his zeal and fidelity in his efforts to promote the 
spiritual and temporal interests of his parishoners. 

St. Mary's hall for lectures, concerts, dramatic performances 
and other meetings was erected in 1878 at a cost of $9,000. 
It holds about eight hundred people and is complete for its 
purposes, with scenery, footlights, dressing rooms and the like. 
The " Catholic Young Men's Literary Union Hall" was built 
by Father Lewis in 1883, for the young men of his parish. 
Here they congregate in the evenings for i-ecreation and literary 
exercises. It cost $2,600. In 1882 Father Lewis built, at his 
own expense, a very handsome chapel, in the heart of Stapleton, 
for the convenience of the aged and infirm of his parish. It cost 
$10,000, and is called the "Chapel of Ease of the Clifton 
Parish," and was dedicated July 9, 1882. Father Lewis is de- 
servedly held in great esteem among all classes on Staten Island 
for his business tact and his unselfish devotedness to his 
parish. 

It is the fortune of few clergymen to spend a term of thirty- 
five years in one pastorate, still less is it usual for any public 
man to remain that length of time among one people, retaining 
through it all their unqualified approval and respect. That 
Rev. John Lewis, or Father Lewis, as he is generally called, has 
done this and has at the same time accomplished such results 
in the way of benefit to the church which claims his devotion, 
speaks volumes for his good judgment and taste. 

Father Lewis was born in France in 1821 and came to America 
in ISni. Soon after his arrival he was appointed to establish a 
new parish at Clifton, and how well he has succeeded is gener- 
ally known throughout Richmond county. From the time 
of his arrival at Clifton he devoted his whole thought to the 
work before him, and what he has accomplished has been the 
result of his constant and unwavering efl'orts. The commodious 




WV,'\ii\1»^, t, ■*,\^%^-\fc.^'V, H. 1. 



HISTORY OF UICHMOND COUNTY. 43;-} 

cliiirch, rectory, schools, residence of sisters of charity, orphan 
asylnm, St Mary's hall, literary hall for young men, St. Mary's 
cemetery, chapel of ease, in Stapleton, etc., make up to day one 
of the most complete and beautifnl parishes in the diocese of 
New York and betray his clear-headedness, unflagging energy 
and sound financiering abilities. It may be said to his credit 
also that lie has not confined himself entirely to the work of 
his own denomination, but has been and is ever ready to lend a 
helping hand in all liberal and charitable movements. 

Father Lewis has been through life a hard student and has 
attained for himself an honored position among the learned 
men of his day. Refined in taste and manner without affec- 
tation, with a countenance full of candor and goodness of heart, 
a ripe scholar, speaking fluently five or six language.s, of mature 
exjjerience, much enlarged by traveling, a thorough champion 
of his own church, yet kind and forbearing to those who differ 
from him, and ever ready to give credit to the honest convic- 
tions of others; all these are the qualities which have enabled 
him to make such a remarkable success of his undertakings on 
Staten Island, and have won for him the love and esteem of his 
fellovr men. 

St. Mary's Roman Catholic church. Port Richmond, was or- 
ganized as an out mission of St. Peter's chui'ch, New Brighton, 
about forty years ago. The Rev. Father Metrano celebrated 
the first mass for about forty Catholics, which was the whole 
number of that denomination living in the town of Northfield 
at that time. The place of worship was the old stone house 
which still stands near the granite quarry at Graniteville. 
Father Metrano continued celebrating mass there once every 
month, for about three years, when he was succeeded by the 
Rev. P. Murphy. Father Murphy's time was short ; he died 
from an attack of yellow fever contracted while performing his 
sacred functions to members of his flock in the yellow fever 
hospital. After a service of about two years, he was succeeded 
by his brother. Father Mark Murphj'. At this time the num- 
ber of catholics had increased to about one hundred and fifty 
members. After a few years he purchased a large piece of land 
on Quarry hill, and built a frame building, sixty by thirty feet, 
two stories high, for a school house. He used it for a church, 
intending to build a larger and more commodious building for 
church purposes. He officiated for about eight years, when he 

28 



434 JIISTOKY (»F ]{ICHMOND COUNTY. 

was succeeded by the Rev. Father Caro, who was appointed 
pastoi' of St. Joseph's church, Rossville, and St. Mary's was 
attached as an out mission. He served about two years. He 
was succeeded by Rev. Father McCrausen, who officiated 
about two years. 

Up to this time there was no regular Sunday school. In 1858, 
Rev. Father Barry of St. Patrick's, NewYork, was appointed pas- 
tor. Services still continued to be held once a month, but after 
a few years they were held twice a month. The catholic popu- 
lation afterward increased to about four hundred, and services 
were held every Sunday. During his time a regular Sunday 
school was formed, and in 1873, T. F. Donovan was appointed 
superintendent, a position which he has since held. Father 
Barry officiated for nineteen years. During his time the tract 
of land which was laid out in previous years for church pur- 
poses, was converted into a cemetery. 

In 1877, the number of catholics had increased to live or six 
hundred. The church authorities deemed it advisable to make 
St. Mary's a separate jiarish, and therefore appointed Rev. H. 
S. O'Hare, pastor. He served one year and three months. 
In 1878, Rev. J. C. Campbell was appointed pastor. His ap- 
pointment marks the forward stride of St. Mary's churcli. He 
worked solely for the temporal and spiritual welfare of his 
people. The end of the lirst three years of his pastorate found 
the church completely clear of debt, and several needed im- 
provements made in the old frame building which Father Mur- 
phy had built thirty years previous, and which was still used 
as a church. He next had the parish enlarged by getting it ex- 
tended to Bodine's Mill creek. The number of Catholics 
belonging to St. Mary's was now about eight hundred. 

The old church was now too small to accommodate the grow- 
ing congregation, and its location was such as to prevent a great 
many from attending their own church. Father Campbell saw 
that something should be done to supply the wants of his 
people. He accordingly, in 1882, purchased for one thousand 
five hundred dollars, a large piece of property on the Shore road, 
near Port Richmond, and erected on it one of the handsomest 
church edifices on Staten Island, at a cost of thirty thousand 
dollars. The new church is one hundred feet long by fifty-seven 
feet wide, with slate roof, and has a steeple one hundred and 
twenty-five feet high. The inside is finished in polished oak, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 435 

and lias a seating capacity of six hundred ; all the windows are 
of stained glass, and were donated by the members of the 
church. The corner stone was laid bj^ Archbishop Corrigan on 
the 19th of August, 1883. It was ready for services the follow- 
ing May, and on the 4th of that month it was dedicated by 
Archbishop Corrigan. In April, 1885, Father Campbell pur- 
chased a magnificent organ to be placed in the church, at a cost 
of two thousand five hundred dollars. It was used for the first 
time on the iirst anniversary of the dedication. He has since 
purchased a large piece of property adjoining the church prop- 
erty, to be used for church purposes. Daniel D. McCarthy 
donated a bell weighing two thousand pounds, which is placed 
in the tower of the church. 

St. Joseph's church, Rossville, was built in 1851, and for 
three years after that time was under the care of the church at 
Clifton. About 1854 Rev. Father Caro became its pastor. He 
was succeeded by the Rev. Bernard McCrausen in 1857. He 
remained until 1859, when the Rev. John Barry became its 
pastor, and the latter remained till the year 1877. Rev. Ed- 
ward A. Dunphy succeeded him, remaining until the present 
time. The congregation of this church comes from Kreischer- 
ville, Tottenville, Green Ridge, Eltingville, Annadale, Hugue- 
not, Prince's Bay, Richmond Valley and Rossville. The church 
is a frame building sixty-one by twenty-five feet on the ground, 
standing near Shay's lane. The interior is tastefully decorated 
with oil paintings, and the house is furnished with stained glass 
windows. It has a seating capacity for about three hundred. 

St. Patrick's church, located at Richmond, was built in the 
year 1861. It is of brick, seventy-one by forty feet in size, and 
is capable of seating about four hundred people. It owes its 
existence largely, if not wholly, to the persevering efforts of 
Rev. Father Barry, who for many years was its faithful pastor. 

St. Rose of Lima, located on Castleton avenue, at the corner 
of Roe street, West New Brighton, was erected in 1864, on a 
lot seventy-five by one hundred and fifty feet, which had been 
purchased of William Jones for nine hundred dollars. Its 
building was due to the energy of Rev. Father Conron, then 
pastor of St. Peter's church at New Brighton. The church was 
appropriately dedicated on Sunday, December 4, 1864, by the 
celebration of high mass, and a performance of classic music by 
artists from St. Peter's church, of Barclay street, ]Sew York, 



436 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

and the "Italian Opera Company." A notable event took 
place here on Sunday, May 22, 1881, when one hundred and 
fourteen males and an equal number of females were confirmed 
by Archbishop Corrigan, assisted by Father Poole, pastor of 
the church, and others. 

In 1850 a number of the members of the Reformed church in 
Richmond, residing at such a distance therefrom as to render 
their attendance inconvenient, organized a new church at Bloom- 
ingview, now known as the " Church of the Huguenots." A 
plain but substantial church building was erected on land 
donated by the Hon. Benjamin P. Prall, and the Rev. James 

A. M. Latourette, a descendant of a Staten Island Huguenot 
family, became its first pastor. Soon after, however, he re- 
signed his charge, having connected himself with the Protest- 
ant Episcopal church. 

Mr. Latourette was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas B. Greg- 
ory, who also, after a brief term, resigned. The Rev. Herman 

B. Stryker, a native Staten Islander, and son of the Rev. Peter 
Stryker, formerly pastor of the church on the north side, then 
supplied the pulpit for several years. After his resignation, 
the Rev. I')r. Francis M. Kip assumed the duties of the pastoral 
office. 

"The First United Independent Christian Church of Staten Is- 
land" (Unitarian) was organized at the house of Minthorne Tomp- 
kins in Stapleton, February 19, 1851, bj' the election of Dr. A. Sid- 
ney Doane, Minthorne Tompkins, Daniel Low, F. S. Hagadorn, 
William Emerson, P. C. Cortelyou, John C. Thomi^son, H. M. 
Harding, John Crabtree, A. J. Hamilton, John Bendernagel, 
and Philii) Bender, as trustees. This society held their meet- 
ings at the Lyceum in Stapleton, where the Reverend Messrs. 
Bellows, Chapin and Osgood often kindly officiated until the 
Rev. John Parkman, of Boston, who had recently become a 
resident of the island, acceisted the charge. 

On the 21st of September of the same year (1851") "The Con- 
gregational Church of the Evangelists of New Brighton " was 
established by the initative of Messrs. James Parker, Lucius 
Tuckerman, W. C. Goodhue, George W. Jewett, John Crabtree, 
A. J. Hamilton, George A. Ward, Robert C.Goodhue, William 
W. Russell, Smith Ely, S. M. Elliott, John D. Sloat, J. E. Kun- 
hardt, William F. Gary, John Jewett, Jr., L. G. Wyeth and 
Mrs. M. Pendleton. This society held their meetings at the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 437 

Belmont house, New Brighton, Mr. Parkman preaching on al 
ternate Sundays there and at the Lyceum, for about six months, 
wlien, unable to obtain a suitable place for worship, the orf^ani- 
zation was dissolved, and the members joined the congregation. 
Mr. Parkman was called to the pastorate of the united body, 
and the name of tlie corporation was changed to that of " The 
Church of the Redeemer," Messrs. Daniel Low, George A. 
Ward, W. C. Goodhue, John F. Raymond, Lucius Tuckerman, 
H. M. Harding, A. J. Hamilton, John Crabtree and Daniel G. 
Garrison being the board of trustees. A building for church 
purposes was erected on Richmond turnpike at the foot of Cebra 
avenue, an isolated situation, apparently selected because, be- 
ing about equi-distant from the several villages, it wasnotmoi'e 
inconvenient to one than to another. It was dedicated June 
29, 185;}. The church flourished and increased, and it was 
thought necessary to enlarge the building. This was done, and 
the number of pews almost doubled. 

In a comi)aratively short time, however, the disadvantages 
of the situation became more and more manifest ; the roads 
were bad, and there were no sidewalks; most of the congre- 
gation lived at a distance; access to the church was difficult, 
almost impracticable at seasons to those on foot; the zeal of 
many of the original members diminished; some died, more left 
the island, and their places remained empty. Mr. Parkman, 
with his family, went to Europe, and was succeeded tempora- 
rily by Rev. Charles Ritter, and by Rev. R. P. Cutler, and 
finally in November, 1865, after an unsuccessful attempt to in- 
duce Mr. Parkman, on his return to Boston from Eixrope, to 
resume his former charge, the church was closed, the building 
sold and removed, the land also sold, and the proceeds invested 
in United States bonds. The corporation was continued, how- 
ever, and its members patiently awaited the time when more 
favorable circumstances should call it to renewed activity. That 
time came in 1868, when the population of New Bi-ighton, hav- 
ing greatly increased. Rev. W. R. G. Mellen, then secretary of 
the Hudson River Conference, gathered the congregation to- 
gether, and attempted its reorganization. Meetings were held at 
the Union Sunday school room in New Brighton, at which he 
conducted the services, and after much patient and earnest en- 
deavor on his part, the desired result was attained. A reor- 
ganization was effected, and Messrs. Daniel Low, George W. 



438 HISTORY or Richmond county. 

Jewett, John C. Henderson, Charles C. Goodhue, George W. 
Curtis, John H. Piatt, Edward B. Merrill, J. Frank Emmons 
and Andrew M. F. Davis, were chosen trustees. A lot of land 
on the corner of Clinton avenue and Second street, New Brigh- 
ton, was purchased, and a church edifice erected thereon at the 
cost of nearly $15,000. The larger part of this sum was paid 
by the funds in hand and by subscriptions, but a debt of nearly 
$6,000 remained. 

Rev. W. C. Badger was called to the pastorate, but was com- 
pelled by ill health to resign in about eighteen months. 
The pulpit was afterward supplied by different clergyman for 
a while, but for several months the services were conducted by 
Mr. George W. Curtis, who read such printed sermons as he 
judged would interest and nelp the congregation. In May, 1871, 
Rev. W. R. G. Mellen, who had, in the meanwhile, been preach 
ing at Detroit, was settled as pastor, and remained in charge 
until May, 1874, when circumstances compelled him to I'esign. 
After this the services were iirincipally and gratuitously con- 
ducted by Mr. Curtis, in the manner above mentioned, to the 
continued delight and satisfaction of the hearers. 

During this period a fine organ was purchased and paid for, 
mainly through the exertion of Mr. J. W. Simonton, who had 
gratuitously conducted the musical services of the congrega- 
tion since the reorganization; the debt was paid off, Mr. Daniel 
Low, deceased, having contributed largely for that purpose, 
and the society was enabled to give assistance to other weak 
churches, and to deserving charities. 

The revenues of the " Church of the Redeemer" were raised 
by subscription and not from the rent of pews, the seats being 
absolutely free. All persons of both sexes, of full age, who 
had been stated attendants on worship with the society for 
one year, and had contributed five dollars annually to its 
treasury were entitled to take part, and to vote at all its pro- 
ceedings. 

When, after a few years, Mr. Curtis relinquished the con- 
duct of the services the society invited various clergymen to 
preach, and finally asked the Rev. Alphonso Weeks to become 
the pastor. He was obliged to decline and the religious ser- 
vices were then suspended. The church remained unoccupied 
for a time, but in 1884 it was let to a Baptist society which holds 
regular worship in the building. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 439 

Tlie First Edgewater Presbyterian church is located on 
Brownell and McKeon streets, Stapleton. It was originally 
called "The First Presbyterian Church of Clifton." The or- 
ganization took place Wednesday afternoon, May 14, 1856, at 
the residence of Gr. W. Gerard, Townsend avenue, Clifton, 
when the Thi>d Presb^'tery of New York city met for that 
purpose. There were present of that body Rev. Dr. Samuel 
D. Burchard, A. E. Campbell, Rev. W. Roosevelt, D. T. Mc- 
Langhton, and Elders David Stevens and J. C. Hines, the com- 
mittee ai^poiuted by the body for this service. After religious 
service, twenty-one persons from the Reformed Dntch church of 
Stapleton, and five from other churches presented letters of 
dismissal to the new church, and having assented to the con- 
fession of the faith and covenant were organized into a Pres- 
byterian church. John D. Dix, E. S. Sa.xton, and G. W. Ger- 
ard were elected elders; E. A. Ludlow, and Davidge deacons; 

and were forthwith installed. Rev. Dr. Burchard officiating. 
The first communion of the Lord's Supper was celebrated in the 
home of Elder Gerard, May 18, 1856, when all the members of 
the church were present. 

Rev. Alonzo Brown became pastor of the church October 1, 
1856. This pastorate was dissolved November 30, 1857. The 
Rev. Samuel W. Cruttenden was the next pastor, and served 
the church from April, 1858, until November 9, 1859. On the 
25th of January, 1860, the Rev. W. Howell Taylor was elected 
pastor, and he continued as such until October, 1864. The Rev. 
J. H. Sinclair was next invited to supply the pulpit for eight 
months. February 20, 1865, the Rev. David R. Frazer, of Bal- 
timore, was called to become the pastor. He resigned the 
pastorate, and was on October 8, 1868, released from the same. 
In December, 1865, the first official steps were taken toward the 
building of a new church, and resulted in the purchase of the 
present church edifice, then occupied by the Dutch Reformed 
church, and owned by them. On April 13, 1868, a congrega- 
tional meeting was held to consider an overture from the Re- 
formed Dutch church of Stapleton respecting a union of the 
two churches, which was effected. At a meeting of the congrega- 
tion, May 20, 1868, the name of the church was changed to the 
"First Presbyterian Church, Edgewater." 

The Rev. Dr. J. E. Rockwell, of Brooklyn, was elected pastor 
of the church August 5, 1868. His pastorate was terminated by 



440 HISTORY OF ItlCHMOND COUNTY. 

his death, in the year 1882, after a long and useful ministry. 
On October 29, 1882, the Rev. G. M. McCainpbell, the present 
pastor, was called to the church. 

The chapel, or Sunday school room of this church, which 
formerly stood on Gorge street, now Broad street, was destroyed 
by an incendiary lire. After this the present oiie was erected. 
This costly and commodious chapel of the church, erected in 
187C, stands on the corner opposite the jiresent church edifice, 
and is used for Sunday school purposes and the weekly devo- 
tional and other meetings of the congregation. It is a spacious 
and elegant brick edifice, erected chiefly, if not wholly, through 
the munificence of a lady, who donated $8,000 for the purjDose. 
The present membership numbers two hundred and forty. There 
are three hundred children in the Sunday school. The benev- 
olent contributions during the last year amounted to $1,400, 
while for congregational expenses $4,000 were raised. 

The Calvary Presbyterian church, of West New Brighton, 
was organized November 17, 1872, under care of the Presbytery 
of Brooklyn. It was organized with thirty-five members, most 
of these having been previously connected with the Dutch re- 
formed church of Port Richmond. Tlie following were its first 
officers : R. N. Havens and Augustus W. Sexton, elders ; 
Ralozie Fuller and William J. Ladd, deacons. The chapel, 
situated on the corner of Bemenl and Castleton avenues, had 
been erected before the organization of tlie church. It was 
built during the summer of 1872, at first to accommodate the 
Sunday school, which had been oi'ganized May 14th of that 
year. The church was reallj^ the outgrowth of a Sunday school. 
From its beginning until April, 1873, the pulpit of the church 
was supplied by the Rev. James S. Evans, D. D., who, as syn- 
odical superintendent of church extension, had rendered great 
assistance in effecting the organization. On the evening of 
March 11th, 1873, a call was extended to the Rev. J. Milton 
Greene, pastor of the Second Presbyterian church, of Brook- 
lyn, wliich was accepted by him, and he was installed pastor of 
the church on tlie evening of March 3d, 1873. He continued to 
minister to the church for eight years, when he resigned to 
enter upon missionary work in Mexico. During this time, be- 
ginning in May, 1881, Presbyterian services were conducted in 
the old school house between Travisville and Linoleumville, by 



HISTOUY OF HICHMOND COUNTY. 441 

Kev. J. Milton Greene and Chaplain Jones of Sailors' Snug 
Harbor. 

Constant g-rowth characterized the organization, so that in 
September, 1874, it was found necessary to enlarge the chapel 
by one half of its original size. The present pastor, Rev. T. A. 
Leggett, was installed in December, 1881. The church has had 
a health}' growth, and its present membership is two hundred 
and fifty. The Sabbath school is one of the largest on the 
island, and is admitted by all to be the most popular and 
flourishing. 

The chapel, since its enlargement, is capable of seating from 
four to five hundred j^eople; and the interior is beautifully and 
tastefully finished and furnished. The church owns land ad- 
joining the chape], and expects to erect upon it a substantial 
church. 

The "German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John," 
at Port Richmond, was organized October 17, 1852. This be- 
longs to the sect, U. A. C. (Unaltered Augsburgian Confession). 
This confession was drawn up at Augsburg by Melancthon, and 
by him and Luther presented to the Emperor Charles in 1530. 
The original members were: John Rathyen, Paul Schmidt, 
Charles Keutgen, John Hettsche, Carl Senne, A. Knop]3, Ernst 
Senne, Louis Koenig, John C. Schiegel, Augustus Senne, J. H. 
Matthius, Diedrich Senne, Gottlieb Bertsch, Carl Neidthart, 
Adam Fuegel, A. Ilulsebus. 

The pastors of the church have been as follows: Bernard de 
Schweinitz; Pr. Boeling, from 1853 to 1855; H. Roel, from 1855 
to 1856; J. F. C. Hennicke, from 1856 to 1857; K. Goehling, from 
1858 to 1859; M. Termenstein, from 1860 to 1867; J. E. Gottlieb, 
from 1867 to 1875; C. Frincke, Jr., December 5, 1875, to 1884; 
J. P. Schoener, Ajiril 19, 1885, to the present time. 

In 1884 the church had one hundred and fifty-seven commu- 
nicant members. The congregation has a day school of sixty- 
two pupils, mostly children of the members. The school had 
a few years since one hundred scholars. It is conducted in 
German and English. Some studies are given in either lan- 
guage. It is prominently a religious school. The church edi- 
fice was purchased from the Methodists. (See Trinity M. E. 
church). 

The Unitarian church on the Turnpike road was purchased 



442 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

in 1865, by this congregation, wlio were then worshipping iinder 
the leadership of Rev. Karl Goehling. The price, whicli inclnded 
a fine pipe organ and the other furniture of the liouse, was 
three thousand five hundred dollars. The liuilding was re- 
moved to the corner of Beach street and Richmond road, on 
ground donated in jjart by Albert Ward, Esq., for the site of a 
church. This congregation had previously used the Methodist 
Episcopal church on Cebra avenue for their meetings. 

There is a Lutheran church at Edgewater, of which we have 
been unable to procure information. It has a parish school 
connected with it. 

The organization of St. Peters congregation having been per 
fected Rev. Dr. L. Mohn projjosed Mr. Jacob Ganss, a student of 
theology, as preacher, to whom accordingly a call was sent. 
Mr. Gauss preached his first sermon here on the lirst Sunday of 
the Advent of 1881. His zeal for the welfare of the congrega- 
tion was of such a sacrificing nature as to insure the success of 
Doctor Mohn's undertaking according to the principles advp- 
cated by him. After having passed a most satisfactory exam- 
ination he was by recommendation of the classis of New York 
ordained a minister of the gospel, and on November 16, 1883, 
was duly installed as minister of the "German Evangelical 
St. Peter's Church of Kreischerville," by three members of the 
classis of New York. A full choir of ladies and gentlemen 
was organized and is under the leadership of the minister. One 
of the members of the congregation acts as organist. Services 
are held every Sunday from 10 to 11 A. M., and Sunday school 
meets from 9 to 10 A. M. A weekly lecture for the benefit of 
the chui'ch is given by the minister. 

The church is located in the midst of a small village near 
the Stateu Island sound. The front of the church is visible 
from the public highway leading from Tottenville to Rossville. 

The establishment of a German church here dates back to 
the year 1881, where the now deceased Rev. Dr. L. Mohn, of 
Hoboken, N. J., by his zeal in bringing about German worship, 
was moved to begin his labors in a small chapel, kindly offered 
by the Methodist Episcopal congregation in the village. 

On the 23d day of October, 1881, the church was incorporated 
by the Honorable Classis of New York, and the first consistory 
was organized by representatives of the classis. The increased 
popularity of the services rendered the auditorium inadequate 



HISTOKY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 443 

to the number of members in attendance, so that it became 
necessary for the congregation to provide a clinrch of its own. 
The hirge majority of tlie congregation being German and of 
German extraction, consisting mainly of employees of the firm 
of B. Kreischer & Sons, Mr. B. Kreisclier, the senior member of 
the lirm, having been an inhabitant of tlie place since 1852, 
seeing the necessity of a house of public worship, proceeded to 
erect a tine church for their benefit at his own expense. 

He personally superintended the erection of the building, 
from laying the foundation to the completion of the structure. 
On the first day of July, 1883, a fine little church was ready 
to open its doors to those who were anxious to hear the praise 
of the Lord expounded in the German language, the building 
having cost Mr. Kreischer fifteen thousand dollars. In the pres- 
ence of every member of Mr. Kreischer' s family the church was 
delivered to the congregation, and services to celebrate the oc- 
casion were conducted by the Rev. Dr. L. Mohn, assisted by 
the Rev. Jacob Ganss. The Sunday school connected with the 
church, and which is in charge of the consistory, was at the 
same time organized. 

At the present time there are about two hundred members of 
the congregation, and one hundred and sixty children belong- 
ing to the Sunday school. The meetings of the consistory are 
held in a room fitted up for that purpose in the church build- 
ing. The first preacher and founder of the church was Rev. 
Dr. L. Mohn. The present members of the consistory are: 
Charles C. Kreischer, Edward B. Kreischer, elders ; August 
Nyck, secretary ; Julius Meerowski, George Werner, deacons ; 
Edward B. Kreischer, treasurer. 

Two societies of the Young Men's Christian Association 
have been organized on the island. The association of the north 
shore was organized in Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, 
July 15, 1867, and was incorporated on the 3d of September fol- 
lowing. The incorporators were : Mathew S. Taylor, George 
A. Middlebrook, Mnlford D. Simonson, JohuD. Vermeule and 
Eugene DuBois. The corner stone of their beautiful edifice 
was laid Tuesday, August 15, 1871, with appropriate cere- 
monies, and was dedicated November 22, 1872. 

The building contains a reading room, sitting room, associa- 
tion meeting room, and an auditorium capable of seating four 



444 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

hundred and eighty persons. The total cost of the building 
was $19,755.32. 

On the 18th of June, 1883, a band of young men, numbering 
thirty-seven, met in the Sunday school room of the Brighton 
Heights Reformed church and resolved themselves into a soci- 
ety under the name of the Young Men's Christian Association 
of the East Shoi-e. As the society gained a footing and its vari- 
ous liranches of work were organized, religious meetings were 
held as often as twice a week, besides a tneeting on Saturday 
afternoon for boys. Literary entertainments and debates were 
held during the winter, occasional lectures were given, a read- 
ing room was provided with the weekly and daily papers, and 
a library of about five hundred volumes. A parlor, supplied 
with an organ and other attractions, was open every evening, 
social receptions were occasionally held, and a gymnasium was 
fitted U13 for the use of members. At the end of the first year 
the membership of the association numbered one hundred and 
fifty, divided into three classes, active, associate and sustaining. 



CHAPTER IX. 



EDUCATION AND LITERATURE. 



The Schools of the Colonial Period. — The Public Schools under the State Gov- 
ernment. — Richmond County College. — Brighton Heights Seminary. — Staten 
Island Academy. — The Natural Science Association. — Newspapers. — George 
William Curtis. — John Adams Appleton. — The Smith Family. 



IN respect to intellectual culture and attention to popular 
education Staten Island has ever sustained a creditable 
position in its generation. It has indeed been remarkably 
favored in this particular, even more so than most localities in 
its neighborhood. Alw^ays the home of men prominent in scien- 
tific, literary, educational or political fields — men who were 
among the foremost in the councils of the province, state or 
nation, in the various fields of mental action, it has profited by 
their leadership, energy and enterprise. Then again, being- 
situated, as it were, under the wing of the great American 
metropolis, it has had the benefit of its attractions, patronage 
and benefactions. 

The early inhabitants of the island gave assiduous attention 
to the education of their children. Very meagre fragments 
only of history may now be found to tell us how they accom- 
plished this work, but enough may be found to convince us that 
they appreciated the importance of giving their cliildren the 
common education of the times. The first education was very 
naturally of a religious character, and given under religious 
patronage. The earliest note that we find touching this subject 
is one in the records of the " Society for the Propagation of 
the Gospel in Foreign Parts," an English society sustained 
under the ausj)ices of the Episcopal church, for the year 1710, 
which is as follows : 

"Mr. Mackenzy, the Society's Missionary in Staten Island, 
in the Province of New York, having informed them how much 
they wanted School-Masters to instruct the Children of the 
English, Dutch and French, in the said Island, and having 



446 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

recommended Mr. Adam Brown and Mr. Benjamin Drewit 
for that Purpose, the Societj' made choice of them both." 
These early schoolmasters were also sometimes called cat- 
echists. The two seem to have been continued — at least tiiat 
number was emjiloyed— during the two years following, but 
in 1712 the men appear to have been changed. That year 
Francis Williamson and John de Puy were employed as school- 
masters under the patronage of the "Society." They received 
ten pounds a year for their salary, and their work was emi- 
nently satisfactory, as the testimony of the missionary. Rev. 
Mr. Mackenzy, together with the approval of the justices of 
the county abundantly proved. So beneficial to the people 
did the work of these early schoolmasters appear to be that the 
society determined in 1713 to employ three more catechists 
or schoolmasters at once. 

We have the report of Mr. Brown of Richmond, one of these 
teachers, the report being dated April 10, 1713, by which we 
learn that he had continued to keep school in the south precinct 
of the county ; that he had taught, during the year preceding, 
thirty-five children to "read, write and cypher ; " and the cat- 
echism of the church, with the explanations thereof, to such as 
were capable ; that he had twenty-four of his scholars publicly 
catechized in the church, and the readiness with which they 
answered all questions was admired by all who heard them ; 
that he taught them the use of tlie "common prayer," so that 
the children could join with the congregation in the divine ser- 
vice. This report was certified to by the minister and the board 
of justices of the county. 

In 1717, Charles Taylor appears as the schoolmaster of the 
" Society," with a salary of fifteen pounds a year. He appears 
to have occupied the position for several years. In 1722 and 
1723 he was teaching respectively, forty-three and forty two 
scholars. Besides the scholars in regular daily attendance he 
also at that time kei>t a night school for teaching negroes and 
those children who had to work during the day-time. The 
salary received from the " Society" was not his only reliance. 
He received an additional pittance from his patrons as a I'ule, 
though his own interest in the cause and the poverty of some 
of his pupils induced him to teach some without any other pay 
than the salary of the society. He continued to exercise the 
functions of a schoolmaster for many years. He died in the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 447 

service in 1742, as the following abstract from tiie "Society's" 
minutes will show : 

"And Mr. Taylor, the Society's Schoolmaster at Staten 
Island being dead, the Society upon a Petition and Recommenda- 
tion from the Reverend Mr. Arnold, their Missionary, and from 
the Chui-ch-wardens and Vestry of the Church of Staten Island, 
of Mr. Andrew Wright, as a Person of good Morals, and a con- 
stant Communicant, and well qualified to teach, hath appointed 
him School-master there to instruct the poor white, and black 
Children also, if any such are brought to him, gratis, in the 
Principles of Christianity, and to read the Bible and the Com- 
mon-prayer Book." 

It is hard! J' to besupposed that these schoolmasters employed 
by this society were the first or only teachers engaged at the 
time in the instruction of children. But we have been unable 
to find any definite data in regard to the early operations of the 
Dutch in the cause of education. 

During the colonial period the secular schools were generally 
under private patronage. To show the contrast between a 
teacher's certificate of that time and those under whicli teachers 
pass at the present time we give the following copy : 

"We whose names are under wq'itten Do Certify that the 
Bearer hereof, James Forrest, lias lived in the West end of 
Staten Island two years and six months, During whicli time we 
know nothing of him but what is Just and honest. Teaching and 
Instructing of Pupils in such parts of Literature as their 
Capacity Could Contain: with great Fidelity and Justice, Giv- 
ing due and Regular Attendance in said school to our mutual 
& Intire Satisfaction and Likewise Instructed them in their 
Parts and Honours to our great Felicity, and now to part at his 
own Request. As Witness our hands 6th of August Seventeen 
hundred and Sixtynine 1769. 

Isaac Doty, William Bp:nnet, Abraham Winant, 

Peter Androvet, David Laforge, John Garrison, 
Zackeus Vandyck, George Garrison, Cornelius Dusosway, 
John Dubois, Daniel Winant, John Gould, 

Isaac Prall, Jacob Reck how, John Story, 

Isaac Doty, Daniel Stilwell, Thomas Butler, 

Moses Doty, John Totton, Henry Butler, 

Joseph Speagg, Gilbert Totton, Christopher Billopp, 
Jacob Spragg, Isaac Mani;, 

Daniel Winant, Jun'r." 



448 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

After the establishment of the state government the subject 
of popular education began to receive notice in the legislature. 
The lirst step in that direction was the incorporation of the 
Regents of the University, which was done by the first legisla- 
ture after the adoption of the constitution. In 1789, the state 
set apart certain public lands for gospel and school purposes. 
In 1795, an act was passed for encouraging and maintaining 
schools, appropriating fifty thousand dollars annually for five 
years for that purpose. In 1799, an ace was passed authorizing 
and providing for raising the sum of one hundred thousand 
dollars by means of four successive lotteries, the money to be 
appropriated to the encouragement of schools. In 1805, an act 
was passed by which five hundred thousand acres of the public 
lands of the state were to be sold and the proceeds devoted to 
the establishment of a permanent fund, the income of which 
was to be annually distributed among the school districts of the 
state for the support of common schools. 

No system for carrying out the beneficence of the state had 
been devised when Governor Tompkins, at the opening of the 
se.ssion, in 1810, addressed the legislature, urging attention to 
this matter. The income of the fund at that time amounted to 
about twenty-six thousand dollars annually, the fund itself 
having reached the sum of one hundred and fifty-one thousand 
one hundi'ed and fifteen dollars and sixty-nine cents. In 1811 
Governor Tompkins again urged the matter upon the legisla- 
ture, and the result was the passage of an act organizing the 
common school system as it existed until 1838. The first dis- 
tribution of money under this system was made in 1813, the law 
establishing it having been passed June 19, 1812. This system 
divided the several towns into school districts, and placed the 
affairs of each district in the hands of three trustees. The 
school money was apjjortioned to the towns on the basis of their 
population, and again divided to each school district on the basis 
of the number of children in each, between the ages of five and 
fifteen years. Each town was required to raise for school pur- 
poses a sum equal to that which it received from the state. The 
first superintendent of common schools was Gideon Hawley, 
whose term extended from 1813 to 1821. 

But it is not our purpose to give here even an outline of the 
development of the common school system of which to-day the 
Empire state may Justly boast. That system, in its operations, 



HISTORY OF KICHJIOND COUNTY. 



449 



is not different in Richmond county from otlier jrarts of the 
state. Its present status is shown by the following figures 
from the reports of the schools for the year last closed : 



Town op Castleton. 



Four Coi-ners 

West New Brighton . 

New Brighton 

New Brighton 



Ml 


■o 










'If, ^ 




u " 


•^'Z 






C.2 


c-S 


iiQ 


u^ 


TD 


"^ bC 


J= — 


-.H-S 


u 


o 


387 


175 


1,584 


813 


1,466 


889 


711 


268 



M 








rt 


jscrt 








c/j-a 


— tiO 








S^ 


o u 


d. 






a o 


E 5 


«-c 


< 


> 


1,500.00 


3,500 


9,720. .'-.3 


12,000 


8,405.03 


40,000 


5,700.00 


10,000 






391,800 

885,700 

1,256,968 

633,601 



Town of Middletown. 



Tompkins ville — Edgewater . 

Stapleton — Edgewater 

Todt Hill 

New Dorp 



772 


429 


4,320.31 


16,000 


3,160 


1,284 


8,749.44 


28,000 


168 


73 


600.00 


500 


147 


74 


660.00 


1,200 



497,754 

1,101,310 

190,435 

125,995 



Town of Northfield. 



Richmond 

New Sjiringville 

Linoleumville 

Port Richmond 

Mariners' Harbor 

Port Richmond, Village of. 
Traversville 



Port Richmond. 



116 


78 


550.14 


650 


123 


50 


500.00 


400 


149 


130 


1,000.00 


2,500 


147 


74 


550.00 


800 


450 


380 


3,518.12 


2,500 


866 


591 


5,692.50 


10,000 


134 


74 


500.00 


250 


69 


53 


364.00 


350 


194 


125 


800.00 


800 



100,000 

147,916 
100,917 
143,208 
446,760 
946,940 
67,938 
46,354 
102,040 



Town of Southfield. 



Clifton 

Concord. . . 
New Dorp. 



878 


360 


3,513.61 


13,600 


603,730 


430 


234 


1,378.00 


3,000 


333,498 


63 


41 


600.00 


1,000 


83,855 



Town of Westfield. 



Richmond Valley. 

Sea Side 

Green Ridge 

Rossville 



Tottenville 

Prince's Bay. . 
Kreischer ville . 
Sea Side 



156 


91 


575.00 


■700 


82 


63 


600.00 


1,000 


141 


66 


4.50.00 


800 


181 


94 


600.00 


800 


533 


361 


2,750.00 


13,000 


282 


176 


1,300.00 


1,000 


360 


305 


980.00 


1,500 


135 


70 


700.00 


1,200 



130,180 

133,875 
169,810 
151,655 
135,930 
176,730 
155,850 
136,375 



In the popular instruction afforded by public lectures and 
literary entertainments of a high order, the people of Staten 
Island have enjoyed unusual facilities. For many years in- 
structive lecture courses have been maintained in some of the 
39 



450 UISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

villages. The support given to them speaks well for the intelli- 
gent good sense of the people. The evidences are not wanting 
to show that the people of Staten Island have been disposed to 
appreciate the value of pojjular education in many ways, and 
to give a generous sujiport to whatever means were presented 
for its accomplishment. The proximity to New York city, how- 
ever, which circumstance has proven favorable to some means, 
has been unfavorable to the maintenance here of collegiate 
schools or academies of high grade. Attempts have been made 
to establish such institutions, but the results until recently 
have not been eminently encouraging. An explanation is 
readily seen in the fact that the best institutions of the great 
metropolis, with advantages which a rural countj^ like this 
could not be expected to emulate, are dailj^ accessible to the 
residents of the island. We shall notice but a few of the at- 
tempts to found schools for higher education on the island. 

The Richmond county college was incorporated by an act of 
the legislature passed April 21, 1838. A condition of its exist- 
ence was that it should within two years own property to the 
value of $80,000, in default of which the charter was to become 
null and void. Ogdeii Edwards'^ , Walter Patterson, Charles 
T. Gatlin, Jacob Tysen, Thomas McAuley, Charles A. Porter, 
John S. Westerpelt, William Wilson, George Howard, Caleb T. 
Ward, William W. Phillips, Thomas Wilson, M'uithorne 
Tompkins, William A. Sceley, John N. McLeod, Thomas Gum- 
ming, Billowy B. Seaman, William C. Brownlee, Robert PaUison, 
David Moore, Alexander Martin, Thomas E. Davis, James O. 
Smith, William Scott, Louis McLane, John E. Miller, James 
Pollotik, James B. Murray, Duncan Dunbar, Samuel Barton, 
AVilliam Agnew, Thomas J. Oakley, JoJm R. Satterlee and 
William Soul were constituted the body corporate and politic, 
and the first trustees. Several efforts were made to convene 
the trustees without success, and the matter finally died away 
and was forgotten. 

Brighton Heights seminarj^ for girls is located on St. Mark's 
place, nearly opposite the Reformed church. The large prop- 
erty of Horace R. Kelly was purchased for it. It was estab- 
lished in 1883. Its first principal was Mrs. Hartt, the widow of 
the late Professor Charles F. Hartt, of Cornell University. It 
* The names in Italics were residents of the island. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 451 

was intended to make the school equal to the best New York 
and Brooklyn schools. 

The " Brighton Heights Association" was formed in the spring 
of 1883, by a number of gentlemen, residents of Staten Island, 
who purchased property at a cost of $20,000, formerly the resi- 
dence of George Wetherspoon, Esq. The interior was re- 
modelled and htted to the new purpose at a cost of over $3,500. 
The school was well patronized by all parts of the island, and 
the building was found too small, so an addition was made at a 
cost of $6,000, built in 1884, on the south side of the grounds 
fronting St. Mark's place. It is connected by a covered passage 
way with the first building. The size of the new addition is 
forty by forty-one feet, two stories high. The basement is of 
brick, the building frame. A kindergarten has been added. 
Preparatory, music, drawing and French are taught. The pres- 
ent principal is Dr. George W. Cook. 

The Staten Island academy is the fullillment of a desire long 
felt and discussed, to provide for this populous suburb of New 
York a school so organized that it should furnish graded in- 
struction complete and of a high order, from the primary to 
the collegiate years. An earnest effort in the sfk-ing and sum- 
mer of 1884, shaped a movement which resulted in the estab- 
lishment of an incorporated school, planned from the outset to 
furnish such instruction and especially to give the carefullest 
preparation for the university or schools of technology. 

The school was first opened September 15, 1884. It is char- 
tered under the laws of the state of New York. Its general 
management is given to a board of trustees elected by the 
stockholders. It offers systematic courses of study in all 
primary and academic grades, with the strictest features of a 
thoroughly classified school maintained in every department. 
The school is exclusively for day scholars and receives pupils 
of both sexes from the jjrimary grade upward. 

The building now occupied by the school is on Richmond 
road, opposite the Lyceum, and stands in one of the quietest 
and most attractive parts of Stapleton. It is supplied with 
modern school furniture, electric bells, gas, water, toilet rooms 
and all that may contribute to the comfort of scholars and the 
efficiency of their class work. 

The trustees of the academy have designed to provide here a 
complete Froebel kindergarten, and to this end two rooms have 



452 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

been fiirnislied with all that; relates to kindergarten work. In 
one of these the children are bnsy with their various occupa- 
tions, while in the other and larger one they have ample space 
for the beautiful games and exercises of the Froebel system. 

Care is taken that the children shall be surrounded by all 
that can help develop a taste for the beautiful, and a habit of 
kindness to the lower animals. An aquarium of tishes, a mini- 
ature Hower garden, singing birds, pictures, and designs, of 
which many are the specimens of the children's own handiwork, 
adorn the rooms. 

The entire organization of the school properi^y, its courses of 
study,etc.,has devolved upon the present principal, Frederick E. 
Partington, A.M., of Brown University, who was the first to take 
charge at the opening in September, 1884. The school registers 
now over two hundred students, and can admit no more, except 
when vacancies occur, and it has a list of thirty or forty who 
are waiting to enter when the chance comes. The trustees have 
lately acquired a large property, and steps have been taken to 
erect a large and permanent structure which will accommodate 
four hundred i:)upils, and be provided with a fine gymnasium, 
assembly hall and all the appointments of a modern preparatory 
school. Among the more prominent citizens of the island 
closely interested in its development are Hon. Geoi'ge William 
Curtis, Erastus Wiman, Esq. and Dr. John C. Eccleston. 

The present board of trustees are: Augustus Schoverling, 
Dr. John L. Feeny, Carl von Dannenberg, Hermann Garbe, 
Frederick W. Graef, August Horrmann, Algernon K. Johnston, 
Dr. Rudolph Mautner, Anthon G. Methfessel, William Rock- 
stroth, Reinhardt Siedenberg, Hugo Schering and Erastus 
Wiman. 

St. Austin's School, for boys, at West New Brighton, was 
established in 1883, through the efforts of Rev. Alfred G. 
Mortimer, the present rector. From its beginning this school 
has met with unusual success. In February, 1885, the property 
of the late W. T. Garner, on Bard avenue, consisting of fifteen 
acres of ground with the buildings thereon, was purchased for 
the school. Class rooms and gymnasium, with a front of one 
hundred and fifty feet, were erected near the main building. 
The faculty includes nine resident masters from Brown, London, 
Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, and Dublin. 

The Natural Science Association, growing out of the infcel- 



IHSTOIIY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 453 

lectual culture of the island, developing in a demand for scien- 
titic investigation of the works of nature on the island, was 
organized in November, 1880. Its members are mainly per- 
sons of enthusiasm and energy in the particular direction in 
which the investigations of each are absorbed. In the study 
of the animals, reptiles, insects, birds, fishes, plants, trees, 
rocks, earths, formation and the Indian relics, the members of 
this association are performing an amount of labor that is per- 
fectly bewildering to the mind of an observer, when viewed in 
the aggregate. The society numbers about fifty active mem- 
bers, and they hold meetings monthly at the village hall in New 
Brighton, when the results of the labors of tlie different mem- 
bers are reported and notes of information compared. A col- 
lection of several hundred objects has been made, and this is all 
the time increasing. The present officers are: Dr. A. L. Carroll, 
president ; Samuel Henshaw, treasurer ; Ernest A. Congdon, 
recording secretary ; Arthur Hollick, corresponding secretary, 
and William T. Davis, curator. An incorporation, under the 
provisions of Chapter 319 of the Laws of 1848, was effected by 
the execution of the required certificate, January 19, 1885, 
which was duly filed with the county clerk on the 30th of the 
same month, and with the secretary of state February 19, 1885. 
The business and objects, as set forth in the certificate, are '• to 
collect and preserve objects of natural science and antiquity, 
with special reference to local matters, and to diffuse correct 
knowledge in regard to the same, by means of publications, 
meetings and public lectures." The management of its business 
and affairs is in the hands of a board of five trustees, which, 
for the first year of its incorporation, were : Alfred Ludlow 
Carroll, M. D., Ernest A. Congdon, Arthur Hollick, Ph. B., 
William T. Davis and Samuel Henshaw. 

The first Staten Island newspayjer, of which we have any 
knowledge, was ]iublished on the 17th day of October, 1827 ; 
it was called the ^^ Richmond Republican,''^ and was edited by 
Charles N. Baldwin ; it hailed from Tompkinsville, but was 
printed in Chambers street. New York. Its publication day 
Avas Saturday, and in politics it was rabidly democratic. Its 
editor announced that he also sold lottery tickets, and solicited 
orders for sign and ornamental painting. It appears to have 
continued in existence for several years, but we are not informed 
at what date its publication closed. 



454 HISTORV OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

The ^^ Riclimond County Mirror^'' was published at New 
Brighton in 1837 and 1888, by Francis L. Hagadorn. 

The '' Riclimond County Gazette''' was established at Staple- 
ton in February, 1859, with Charles Vogt as editor. Its origi- 
nal name was the "S'epoy," and it had its birth in the excite- 
ment which followed the burning of the quarantine buildings. 
Since 1864 it has been edited by Thomas J. Folan, Ernest F. 
Birmingham, James S. Spencer, Colon K. Urquhart, James E. 
Lee and William A. Suydam. Tt was consolidated with the 
" Sentinel;'' May 10, 1882. 

The '' North SJiore Advocate''^ was started at West New 
Brighton, by John J. Clute. in June, 1869. It continued under 
the same management until 1877, when its publication was 
suspended. 

The ^'Richmond County SentmeV was started in April, 
1876, by Thomas Humphrey and Hans S. Beattie. It was pur- 
chased in 1881 by Erastus Wiman, and shortly afterward con- 
solidated with the *' Gazetted 

The '' State?i Island Leader'' was first issued in 1866, its 
publication office being at Stapleton. It publisher has been 
P. H. Gill. The '' Staten Island Adiiertiser," started in 1877, 
at West New Brighton, was afterward merged in the 
" Leader^ It is now published by the Macklin Brothers. 

'^ Der Deutsche Staten Islander, '" a German newspajier, was 
started at Stapleton, in 1867, by John Schiefer, editor and pub- 
lisher, by whom it is still continued. 

The '■'■ Staten Islander Deutsche Zeitung;'' a German paper, 
was established in 1876, by Caii Herborn, by whom it was 
edited and published two or three years, at Stapleton. 

The '' liichmond County Standard'" was established April 9, 
1881, by Robert Humphrey and Colon K. Urquhart, in the 
village of New Brighton. After January, 1884, by the with- 
drawal of Mr. Urquhart, the proprietorship fell entirely to Mr. 
Humphrey, and Ira K. Morris was eni]3loyed as editor, in 
which jiosition he is still retained. 

The '■'Richmond County Democrat '''' was first issued in Sep- 
tember, 1880, by William J. and J. H. Browne. The publica- 
tion office is in the village of New Brighton. In 1883 the paper 
was enlarged, and a power press and steam were added to the 
working material of the office. Its publication is still con- 



HISTORY OF KICIIMOND COUNTY. 4P5 

tinuecl by the original proprietors. Tiiomas J. Folan is its 
editor. 

The "' Rlclimoiid County Herald'' was established August 
27, 1880, at Stapleton, by Gilbert C. Dean, by whom it has 
since been continued. 

The "■ Staten Island Star"' was established at West New 
Brighton in 1877. It is still published by Oscar A. Douglas. 

The publication of '• The Citizen''' was begun at Port Rich- 
mond, in September, 1885, by Ii'a R. Bamber and George D. 
Swart wout. 



George William Curtis. — For years it lias been the priv- 
ilege of Richmond county to number among its residents one 
of the foremost of American authors, journalists and statesmen, 
George William Curtis. Although Mr. Curtis has never held 
a political office, he has made a profound study of states- 
manship, and possesses a knowledge of public affairs second to 
that of no other man in the country ; but his greatest and best 
work has been achieved in the field of journalism. Starting 
out on his youthful career as the author of several charming 
books of travel, and afterward drifting into literary engage- 
ments with the New York '^ Tribune,''' '■'■Harper's Weekly," 
and other journals, he was at an early age, and in common 
with thousands of earnest young men in the North, driven by 
conviction to take part in the great moral revolution which cul- 
minated in the war for the Union and the abolition of slavery 
in the United States; and throwing himself with fervor into 
this new field of activity, he abandoned a profession in which 
he might have obtained high honors, for the one in which he 
has achieved his great reputation as a leader and teacher uf 
men. It will be interesting to trace the ste^js by which he came 
into his chosen career of work. 

Mr. Curtis was born in Providence, R. I., February 24, 1824, 
but he was partly of Massachusetts descent, his father having 
been born in Worcester, in that state, of which an ancester was 
the first settler. His mother was the daughter of James Bur- 
rill, Jr., at one time chief justice of Rhode Island, and after- 
ward United States senator. In 1830 he went to boarding school 
at Jamaica Plain, near Boston, where he remained for four 
years. Pleasant reminiscences of his school days there are 
found in the early chapters of his novel, " Trumps," narrated 



456 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

with a Fresbness and enthusiasm which remind the reader of 
" Tom Brown at Rugby." Meanwhile be hjst his mother; and 
in 1839, his father, who had married again, removed with his 
family to New York, and, desirous that his son should pur.sue 
a mercantile career, placed him, after a yeai"'s study with a 
iwivate tutor, as a clerk in a German importing house in Ex- 
change place. 

But mercantile life was not agreeable to the youth. His tastes 
were decidedly literary, and in the course of his reading he be- 
came deeply interested in the transcendental movement in which 
so many of the best and jiurest minds of New England were at 
that time engaged. Accordingly, after about a year of uncon- 
genial drudgery in the importing house, he went to " Brook 
Farm," in company with his eldest brother, who shared in his 
tastes and aspirations. It is unnececsary to repeat the story of 
failure and disappointment which led to the breaking down of 
that amiable experiment; but the incident of his taking part in 
the endeavor to create an ideal society is interesting as show- 
ing the earlj' tendency of Mr. Curtis' mind. He is still called 
an idealist by those who use the word as a term of reproach, as 
though it were folly in the youth to believe that society may, 
in time and by j)ersistent effort, be organized on a higher and 
purer basis than at present, and still greater folly in the man 
to retain such optimistic views. The millennium may be far 
away; but its coming will not be hastened by deriding the prin- 
ciples whose application in social and political life may make 
it possible at some distant period; and men who endeavor to 
bring society into harmony with those principles are xn-ophets 
and apostles of the Utopia that is to come. 

Mr. Curtis and his brother remained at " Brook Farm " until 
1844, and they then passed two years in Concord, Mass., study- 
ing and farming. Here Mr. Curtis became very intimate with 
Emerson, Hawthorn and Henry Thoreau, forming warm friend- 
ships with them which were broken only by death. In his 
" Homes of American Authors" he has printed some interest- 
ing notes of his intercourse with the philosopher, the romancer 
and the hermit. 

In 1846 Mr. Curtis determined on making an extended 
tour in the old world, which, at that time, was a more eventful 
and important undertaking than it is now, when the " Atlantic 
Ferry " will take you across in a little more than a week. In 




I 




'^'7^.«u^^^^=2^:^i:.^t.**t. ^-^^'-iTi^^ 



V*0-\. tt ?1<W. V'*>'\^^"^■^"i'i.^ "i-- %\'i.%^Mv^'^, H. 1. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COHNTY. 457 

August of that year he sailed from New York for Marseilles in 
a passenger packet. The voyage occupied nearly fifty days. 
From Marseilles he went by steamer to Leghorn and from that 
city to Pisa, where he lingered awhile to admire the wonders of 
the Leaning Tower, the Cathedral, the Baptistery and the Campo 
Santo. Prom Pisa he passed on through the luscious vintage 
to Florence. The winter was spent in Rome. In the spring of 
1847 Mr. Curtis visited Naples and other portions of Southern 
Ital3% then made his way slowly northward, back to Florence, 
where he remained some time, finishing the summer by a long 
and delightful sojourn in Venice, in the congenial society of 
Kensett, Hicks and other American artists. In the autumn he 
traveled through Lombardy to Conio, and over the Stelvio 
through the Tyrol and Salzkammergat to Vienna, reaching 
Berlin in the middle of November. The spring of 1848 found 
him in Dresden, Prague and again in Vienna, whence he sailed 
down the Danube to Pesth, returning to Switzerland for the 
summer. He traveled through Switzerland with all the delight 
of leisure, and not with the modern American frenzy, which 
counts as lost time every hour consumed in passing from place 
to place. In the same manner he studied the cities, the people 
and the art of Holland — who indeed could hurry through 
Holland — and in the autumn sailed from Malta to Alexandria. 
Mr. Curtis was fortunate in visiting the land of the Pharoahs 
when the spirit of modern progress had scarcely begun its 
devastating work within the shadow of the pyramids. The de- 
struction of the picturesque is surely not an evil necessarily 
attendant upon social, political and industrial progress; but 
progress is very apt, when suddenly aroused, to play sad havoc 
with things which might better be preserved than destroyed. 
Were there not quarries of stone in Egypt, that temples old 
as human tradition must be despoiled to build new cities '. 
Doubtless the railroad and the steamboat are great conveniences 
for people who ai'e in a hurry, but they have unmade the Egypt 
of history and the imagination. They had not done so when 
our Howadji looked upon the pyramids and sailed slowly up 
the Nile to the second cataract. The sacred river still flowed 
"through old hushed Egypt and its sands, like some grave, 
mighty thought, threading a dream," and the effect of that 
hushed and dreamy life upon his imagination found delightful 
expression in his " Nile Notes," which are full of the flavor and 



458 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

perfume of the East. Ten years afterward they oonlcl not have 
been written. Stephens visited the Nile still earlier; but he was 
a man of merely dry observation. He had no enthusiasm, no 
imagination, and the record of his journeyings is as dull as a 
ledger in comparison with the Howadji's dreamy musings and 
charming descriptions. 

A journey across the desert by way of Gaza to Jerusalem, of 
whicli he wrote an account in the " Howadji in Syria," ended 
Mr. Curtis' eastern travels. He spent the early summer of 
1850 in England and returned home in August. His pen had 
not been idle during his wanderings. Besides his journal, he 
had written letters for the "^Courier and Enquirer,''' of which 
Henry J. Raymond was then managing editor, and for the 
New York " Tribune,'" where his friend, Mr. Charles A. Dana, 
held the same position. On his return, he entered upon an ac- 
tive literary life. He became musical critic and editorial writer 
on the " Tribune,''^ and wrote out his " Nile Notes," which 
were published in 1851 by the Harpers. In the autumn of that 
year he wrote a series of picturesque traveling letters to the 
" Tribune.''' from the Catskills, Saratoga, Trenton, Niagara, 
Newport and Nahant, which were published in 1852 as "Lotus 
Eating," beautifully illustrated by his friend Kenseit. In the 
same year the "Howadji in Syria" was published, and Mr. 
Curtis wrote some sketches of social life for '•'Harpers 
MontMy. 

The establishment of " Putnavi' s MontTdy,'" in 1853, opened 
a new field to Mr. Curtis, who, in conjunction with Parke God- 
win and Charles F. Briggs, assumed the editorial management 
of that periodical, which was destined to a brilliant though 
brief career. Within the first year of its existence he wrote 
the jiapers on Emerson, Hawthorne, Longfellow and Bancroft, 
in the series on "The Homes of American Authors." To this 
magazine Mr. Curtis contributed "The Potiphar Papers," a 
brilliant satire on certain phases of New York society, and 
" Prue and I," a series of delightful sketches, rather than a 
story, which was published in 1857. When the magazine passed 
into the hands of Messrs. Dix & Edwards, Mr. Curtis and Mr. 
Frederick Law Olmsted became connected with the firm and 
were involved in its failure. Considering himself morally, 
if not legally, responsible for a portion of the indebtedness, 
Mr. Curtis refused to avail himself of the technicalities of the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 459 

law and set himself to the work of paying the creditors. He 
devoted himself diligently to literary work. The amount of 
labor he performed was literally enormons. Besides filling the 
" Easy Chair "of " Harper' s Magazine,'''' in which he had just 
taken his seat, and writing "The Lounger" in ^' Harpefs 
WeeMy,'' he delivered a long series of lectures, sometimes 
speaking a hundred nights in a season, and traveling, almost 
without rest, from place to place at the insatiable call of man- 
agers and committees. No man was ever more popular as a 
lecturer. The charm of his manner was irresistible; he had not 
only something to say which the people wanted to hear, but 
knew how to say it with the grace and ease which belong to the 
true orator. One of the most popular of his lectures was that 
on that perfect soldier of chivalry, Sir Philip Sidney. 
Scarce!}^ less popular were his Lowell lectures on the mod- 
ern English novelists, which were repeated in New York, 
Brooklyn and other places. The physical and mental strain 
involved in this labor was so excessive that many people 
wondered that he was willing to undergo it. A few only of his 
immediate friends knew ihat the proceeds of all his lectures 
during a period of almost ten years, and a part of his salary 
as editor, were devoted to the liquidation of the debt from 
which the law, but not his high sense of moral responsibility, 
would have absolved him. 

During these years the slavery question had gradually ab- 
sorbed public attention and had become the paramount theme 
in the jiress, the pulpit, and the lyceum. In his Newport 
loungings Mr. Curtis had noted the effect produced on northern 
society by the slave power, and his attention had been called to 
the necessity of combating the evil influence by every popular 
means. Accordingly, in all his lectures, like many of the ly- 
ceum speakers at that time, he discussed fhe subject with great 
freedom and force. The lecture lyceum, indeed, did much to 
arouse and enlighten public opinion on this vital question, and 
to prepare the way for the great revival of anti-slavery feeling 
in the north which followed the personal assault on Chai'les 
Sumner in 1856. It is necessary to recall these times in order 
to form a just estimate of Mr. Curtis, and his career in public 
affairs. He was one of a lai'ge number of young men who felt, 
when that assault took place, that there were more imperative 
duties than the delights of dalliance in the primrose paths of 



460 HISTO]lY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

literature. In the year just mentioned he delivered a college 
address at Middletown on the "Duty of the American Scholar 
to Politics and the Times," in which the situation and the 
impending crisis were discussed from an anti-slavery point of 
view. He went on the stump for Fremont, in that year, speak- 
ing in New York, New England, New Jersey and Pennsylvaniaj 
and entered actively into politics on Staten Island, where he 
lived, and where for many years he was chairman of the repub- 
lican county committee. 

Mr. Curtis was a delegate to the second national convention 
of the republican party, which assembled at Chicago on the 
16th of May, 1860. It will be remembered that the construction 
of a " platform " was a labor of considerable difficulty. There 
were still many republicans who wished to conciliate tlie border 
states, and when Joshua R. Giddings moved in convention to 
add to the first resolution the "life, liberty, and pursuit of 
happiness" clause from the declaration of independence, the 
oi^position was loud and determined. The motion was lost by 
a large vote and Mr. Giddings, who had urged its adoption in 
the most eloquent and impressive manner, proposed to with- 
draw from the convention ; but Mr. Curtis took an early oppor- 
I unity to renew tlie motion, in a slightly modihed form. There 
were again loud cries of opposition. Mr. Curtis asked whether 
the party was prepared at its second national convention to vote 
against the great charter of American liberty, and cautioned 
the delegates to beware how, there in the broad prairies of the 
west, they receded from the position which the party had 
occupied at Pittsburg, and refused to repeat the words of the 
fathers of the revolution. His eloquent periods acted like magic 
on the convention. The amendment was adopted unanimously 
amid wild excitement, the great multitude rising and giving 
round after round of applause. "Ten tliousaud voices," says 
a coniemporary report, "swelled into a deafening roar, and for 
several minutes every attempt to restore order was hopelessly 
vain. The crowd of people outside took up and re-echoed the 
cheers, making a scene of excitement and enthusiasm unparal- 
leled in any similar gathering." It was a great popular 
triumph, and was of vital service to the party, not only in 
retaining the influence of Mr. Giddings and his followers, but 
in swelling the enthusiasm which greeted the platform and the 
candidates. The same earnestness of purpose which charac- 



HISTORY OF RICiniOXD COUNTY. 461 

terized him in the convention of 1860 was manifested in tlie 
action of Mr. Curtis at the convention of 1884. Tlie nomination 
of Mr. Blaine for the presidency lie believed to be a mistake of 
too grave a nature to be passed by him in silence, and his sub- 
sequent refusal to support the republican candidates was in 
simple conformity to the dictates of his conscience. 

It was a notewortliy event in the history of American journal- 
ism when, in December of 1863, Mr. Curtis became the political 
editor of "-^ Harpef s WeeJcly^' He had been conducting a de- 
partment called "The Lounger," begun in the autumn of 1857, 
which consisted at first of essays in the lighter vein on social 
and literary topics, very much in the manner of the "Easy 
Chair." After the beginning of the war Mr. Curtis frequently 
introduced subjects of a national and political character in this 
department, but his field was comparativelj' restricted. From 
the moment, however, that he took his seat in the editorial 
chair, his discussions assumed a wider scope, embracing all the 
great issues before the country. Thoroughly equipped for his 
new position by mental training and political experience, and 
in t\\\\ sympathy with his audience, he made ^'' Harpef s 
Weekly'' a power in the republican party. He was hampered 
by no office restrictions. The publishers knew the secret of real 
responsibility, and, giving him their confidence, gave it unre- 
servedly. There was, of course, entire harmonj^ of principle 
and purpose between Mr. Curtis and his publishers ; and while 
there was also, of course, occasional differences of judgment as 
to men and measures, there was never any interference with 
the course pursued by Mr. Curtis, nor any attempt to dictate 
the tone of the paper. This unrestricted independence gave Mr. 
Curtis a commanding influence in republican councils and over 
his readers. He won and has kept the enthusiastic personal sup- 
port and admiration of his audience, as no other editor has suc- 
ceeded in doing, with the single exception of Horace Gi'eely. The 
relations between Mr. Curtis and his readers are, in fact, almost 
personal in their nature, and he has never seriously entertained 
proposals, however brilliant and tempting, that would interrupt 
those relations. Thus, although he could serve as a regent of 
the university, and a non-resident professor at Cornell Univer- 
sity for four years, he declined in 1869, upon the death of Henry 
J. Raymond, who had previously asked him to become assistant 



462 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

editor, an invitation to the chief editorship of the New York 
'■'Times." 

No other man has done more to create and maintain a healthy 
l)opular sentiment on the subject of civil service reform. 
In '' Harpef s WeeMy,'''' and in his public addresses, he has 
expounded and advocated this important measure with a per- 
sistency which has drawn upon him the wrath and ridicule of 
those who are pleased to style themselves "practical" politi- 
cians. "Sentimentalist" and "Visionary" are among the 
mildest names applied to him by his political opponents ; and 
he has been accused frequently of treachery to party allegiance, 
because of the outspoken manner in which he has exposed and 
denounced obnoxious measures within the ]>arty. But Mr. 
Curtis acknowledges no party allegiance, in the sense that 
" machine" politicians understand the term ; his only allegiance 
is to right, to high principle, to honor. He has the loftiest con- 
ceptions of the duty of the citizen. He holds that it should be 
the aim of every man, not only to keep himself pure, but to 
assist in tlie purification and elevation of ijolitics ; that it is the 
duty of every resjiectable citizen to take part in civil affairs and 
to keep them out of the control of the baser elements of society. 
Between "sentimental" politics like this, and "i^ractical" 
politics, which implies pandering to those baser elements, there 
can be no room for choice. As Charles Sumner once said, in 
his imperious way, to one who asked him to consider the other 
side of the slavery question : " Sir, in a matter of this sort there 
is no other side." 

That the views which Mr. Curtis holds will win in the end 
admits of no doubt. Many a failure may yet be in store for 
their advocates, but, unless free institutions are destined to go 
under, civil service reform must ultimately triumph. Mr. Cur- 
tis was not discouraged by its failure under President Grant's 
administration. He accepted the chairmanship of the civil 
service commission, in 1871, with sanguine hopes of success. 
The president was sincere and earnest in his desire to thus sig- 
nalize his administration ; but, in 1873, becoming convinced 
that, yielding to the pressure of "practical" politicians. Gen- 
eral Grant had changed his views, Mr. Curtis resigned, and the 
next year the president formally abandoned the project. It 
had been well for the president, and for the republican party, 
Lad he listened to wiser councils. Even those who have always 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 463 

sneered at " Sunday school" politics begin now to discern the 
signs of the times; and the president's recent recommendations 
in his annual message, and the various bills hurriedly intro- 
duced in congress, favoi'ing reform in the civil service, show 
that the views which Mr. Curtis advocates have taken a strong- 
er hold on the public than was dreamed of by his opponents. 

Mr. Curtis has never accepted a political office, although often 
pressed to do so. By Mr. Seward he was offered the consul- 
generalship to Egypt ; President Hayes urged him to accept 
the post of minister to England, and afterward that of minister 
to Germany ; but he could not be tempted away from his edito- 
rial position. Once he accepted the nomiiiatiou for representa- 
tive to congress, knowing that his district was hopelessly 
democratic, and tliat there was no prospect of his election. In 
1867, he served in the state constitutional convention in which 
he was chairman of the committee on education. He frequently 
took part in the debates, and made a speech in favor of the ex- 
tension of the franchise to women — a measure of which he has 
been for years a consistent advocate. 

Mr. Curtis was married in 1857, to a daughter of Mr. Robert 
G. Shaw, the eminent philanthropist, recently deceased. For 
many years he has resided in West IS'ew Brighton, Staten 
Island, except during the summer months, when he seeks rest 
and relaxation in a pleasant, old-fashioned country home in the 
village of Ashfield, Mass. 

His devotion to journalism and ijolitical affairs has prevented 
Mr. Curtis from pursuing authorship as a profession if we are 
to regard authoi'ship as the writing of books; but althougli he 
has put forth no volume since the publication of "Trumps," 
the readers of the "Easy Chair" in '■^Harper's Magazine,'''' 
and of "Manners Upon the Road" in '^ Harpef s Bazaar'' 
will recognize in him the most cliarming essayist of the day. 
The delicate, graceful humor of these papers, the purity of 
style, the wide range of culture and observation whicJi they in- 
dicate, but which is never obtrusive, give them a distinctive 
character of their own. The "Easy Chair" is the first part of 
the magazine to which the reader turns. The author of 
"Trumps," "The Potiphar Papers," and " Prue and I," could 
hardly have failed as a novelist, had he chosen to pursue that 
path of literature ; but we will not regret his choice, for while 
we have many novelists, where shall we look for another name 
like his in the field of American journalism ? 



464 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

John Adams Appleton, one of tlie members of the firm of 
D. Appleton & Co., publishers and importers of books in New 
York city, and for many years one of Staten Island's most 
prominent and respected residents, was born in Boston, Mass., 
January 9, 1817. As a young man he entered the business with 
his father and brothers, and in the prosecution of that business 
upon sound and manly principles he met with gratifying suc- 
cess. He acquired a large fortune which he wisely used, not 
only for the benefit of his immediate family and friends, but 
also for the good of the community in which he lived, and 
especially for the cause of the church to which he was devotedlj^ 
attached. 

There were several points in Mr. Appleton' s character which 
deserve to be noted. He was first of all, a devout, consistent 
Christian; one who was neither ashamed nor afraid to acknowl- 
edge his faith in his Savioui', and one who strove to remember 
always that he was a steward of God placed in charge of large 
means and opportunities for promoting the spread of the Gospel 
and the happiness of his fellow-men. Through life he con- 
tinued steadfast in his faith, and when the summons came he 
laid down the burden of life with firm, unwavering confidence 
in the mercy of our Heavenly Father in and through Christ 
Jesus our Lord. He was for many years senior warden of St. 
John's Church, Clifton, and was one of its largest benefactors. 
It may, indeed, be called his monument. A mural tablet has 
been erected in the church of his affections, commemorating 
his quiet life of faith and service as a Christian. It was done 
by the members of the church, his friends, and the employees 
in his business. 

In admirable keeping with this inner life of faith, Mr. Ap- 
pleton always proved himself to be a gentleman of the truest 
type. He was uniformly courteous and considerate toward 
others, never wounding the feelings of any one, however ob- 
scure or lowly his lot, and always ready with a pleasant word 
and kindly act. Though of a rather nervous temperament, and 
disliking everything of the nature of parade or show, lie was 
fond of congenial society, and took delight in dispensing cordial 
and unostentatious hospitality at his beautiful residence on 
Staten Island. 

As a business man Mr. Appleton was deservedly esteemed, 
an honor to the name. He took his full share in upholding the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 465 

reputation which the house of D. Appleton & Co. has 
always sustained for integrity and fairness in their vast busi- 
ness transactions. He was jealous for the good name of the 
house, and desirous, by every effort oh his part, to extend its 
honorable influence. A few years previous to his death he was 
severely injured by being thrown from his carriage, and he 
never fully recovered from the shock which was thus given to 
his system. His last illness was aggravated by a complication 
(if disorders, and he sank rapidly under the attack, passing away 
in the early morning of Wednesday, July 13, 1881, in the sixty- 
fifth year of his age. 

He was endeared to all with whom he was brought into close 
business relations, as touching evidence of which may be ad- 
duced the spontaneous gathering of the employees of the house, 
the day after his death, and the resolutions unanimously 
adopted at the meeting. Especially was he respected and 
esteemed upon Staten Island, where his liberality and charity 
won for him a host of admiring and constant friends. Perhaps 
no private citizen ever received a more universal eulogium from 
the press at the time of his death than did Mr. Appleton. 

The Smith Family. — Richard Penn Smith, better known 
on Staten Island as Col. Penn Smith, is a descendant of the 
Smith family of Philadelphia so many members of which 
have made themselves famous by their literary and artistic 
abilities. The great-grandfather of Mr. Smith was the Rev. 
Dr. Smith, first provost of Philadelphia College in the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania. He was a man of gi'eat talent and 
one who had enjoyed a highly finished European education. 
For twenty-five years Doctor Smith stood foremost among the 
eminent persons of his time. He was a profound and varied 
scholar, a vigorous thinker and a writer of great beauty and 
energy, many of his literary productions being compared by 
British reviewers to those of Massillon and Bossuet. Doctor 
Smith was prominent in all the aggressive movements of his 
day, and was among the first to recognize and assist Benjamin 
West toward the eminence which he afterward achieved. 
His writings have been collected into several volumes which 
have passed through various editions, meeting always with 
marked approbation. 

The eldest son of Rev. Dr. Smith, William Moore Smith, was 
also a man of note. He inherited from his father a love of 

30 



466 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

Study, especially of the classics. Early in life he published a 
volume of poems, characterized by brilliancy of fancy, ease of 
versification, justness of sentiment and chaste and nervous 
diction. The poems were reprinted in England, where they 
were made the subject of much commendation, a fact at that 
time of such unfrequent occurrence that it deserves to be re- 
membered. Mr. Smith enlarged his views by extensive foreign 
travel, after returning from which he became a barrister in 
Philadelphia. Here he rajmlly rose to eminence in his pro- 
fession, from which, however, he retired at an early age, 
spending his after years in the family mansion on the 
Schuylkill. 

Richard Penn Smith, son of the preceding and father of the 
subject of this sketch, was a man of distinguished ability both 
as a literateur and as a dramatist. He followed in the foot- 
steps of his literary predecessors, and is remembered among 
the best magazine writers of his day. He was for five years 
proprietor of the '■'■Aurora,'''' a well known Philadelphia paper 
and, thcmgh its editor, found leisure at the same time to con- 
tribute many articles to the periodical literature of the time, 
besides producing several dramatic pieces, some of which were 
not only cordially received at their first representation, but 
still continue to maintain their place on the stage. Among 
his earliest plays were the "Disowned, or the Prodigal" and 
"Deformed, or Woman's Trial." These plays were performed 
at the Chestnut street theater, Philadelphia, after which they 
were taken to London where tliey created a most favorable im- 
pression. Besides these dramas Mr. Smith wrote tragedy and 
numerous petite comedies and farces. He composed, at the 
request of Edwin Forrest, the tragedy of "Caius Marius," 
which was performed by that actor at the Arch street theater, 
Philadelphia. While quite young Mr. Smith composed a novel 
in two volumes, entitled the " Forsaken." In 1836 he published 
two volumes, under the title of "The Actress of Padua and 
Other Tales," which had an extensive sale. In the same year 
he gave to the public "Colonel Crockett's Tour in Texas," a 
pseudo autobiography which purported to have been written by 
the gallant Tennesseean prior to the field of the Alamo. In the 
course of a single year upward of ten thousand copies were sold 
in the United States besides an extensive sale which the work 
received in England. This book was the most popular of all the 




. J^^^j^u,^^ 




^ '^ 



iB^|^*^0 . 








^;^''> 








^p-r*\- '* . 










# 


pM 


i^ 


^►.:i 


Ik. '.« 


4^''S1 


EmIjIi^ 



rEBK. 



BEECHLAWN. 

RESIDENCE OF COL, R. PENN SMITH 



V4^<i-;iSt^ t. ^\t*^"^VM"^^ U. 



HISTORY OF RICIIMOXD COUNTY. 467 

writings of Mr. Smith, who died at Philadelphia in August, 
18o4. 

His son, Colonel R. Penn Smith, of whom we write, was born 
in the city of Philadelphia, May 9, 1837. He received his edu- 
cation at West Chester college, Pa., after leaving which, in 1857, 
he journeyed westward, becoming one of the early settlers of 
Kansas. Here he engaged in mercantile pursuits, in which his 
talent for business soon won him remarkable success, though 
the territory at the time was overrun by a rough class of immi- 
grants, some of whom were in search of homes but the majority 
were adventurers. To add to the difficulties of the situation 
Kansas at that time was engaged in the bloody Border Ruffian 
wars. Mr. Smith became one of ten selected to march across 
the prairie to Frazier's river and the extreme northwestern por- 
tion of the republic in search of gold. In 1859 he crossed to 
Denver city, then a rude hamlet, built mostly of adobe houses, 
there being but six frame structures in the town. Prom Den- 
ver, with a party, he started into the wild interior of the 
Rockies, but was iinally obliged to abandon the search, by 
hostile Indians. 

In 1860 he returned to his home in Philadelphia on a visit, 
and while there became greatly interested in the political out- 
look. Soon afterward Fort Sumter was fired on, and he im 
mediately concluded to enlist. Accordingly, on the 28th of 
May, 1861, he was mustered into the service of the United States 
government as first lieutenant of Company F, Seventy-first 
Pennsylvania, better known as Baker's California regiment. 
Mr. Smith's army career is well known to the American public. 
His promotion was rapid, and he soon assumed command of 
the regiment, Baker being killed at Balls Bluff. Colonel Smith 
was recognized as the youngest colonel in either army, being a 
regimental and brigade commander. He participated in many 
of the most important engagements of the war, among which 
were the following : Falls Church reconnoissance and action at 
Lewinsville, advance on Munson's hill, action at Balls Bluff, 
relief of Banks, Savage station. White (3ak swamp, Charles City 
Cross roads, Malvern Hill, Siege of Yorktown, Fair Oaks or 
Seven Pines, action at Fair Oaks, Peach Orchard, covered re- 
treat at second Bull Run, Hyattstown, South Mountain, Antie- 
tam, Dunker church, Fredericksburg, Banks Ford, Thorough- 
fare Gap, Gettysburg, Auburn Mills, Bristoe station, action Bull 



468 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Run, Mine Run, Robertson's Tavern, Morton's Ford and Cold 
Harbor. 

At Fair Oaks, as lieutenant, he led the regiment into action, 
a maneuver which was witnessed by General Sedgwick, who 
recommended him as a tield officer. At Antietam he was 
wounded at the cannon's mouth, and his services at the battle 
of Gettysburg won for him the highest enconiums of military 
men, historians and private citizens throughout the country, it 
having been stated by more than one witness of the aflfair that 
the action of Colonel Smith and his men on the eventful 3d of 
July was the means of turning the tide of victory. The po- 
sition occupied by him at this battle is known as the bloody 
angle where Picket made his charge, and where the backbone 
of the rebellion was broken. Colonel Smith succeeded in bring- 
ing into use the dead guns recovered from the field of action oti 
the 2d of July, and with these he poured into the advancing 
columns of Picket an enfilading fire, which effectually checked 
his advance. On July 3, 1804, he was mustered out of the ser- 
vice, with his regiment, and at once engaged in the manufactur- 
ing business with General McCandless, of Pennsylvania Reserve 
fame. At length, however, he gave up his pai'tnership with 
McCandless and came to New York city, taking up his resi- 
dence on Staten Island. Almost immediately he interested him- 
.self in the wholesale coal business, in which he rapidly ac- 
cumulated a fortune. After a survey of the prominent points 
in the trade, he saw that immense quantities of small coal, 
amounting to millions of tons, capable of u.se in the making of 
steam, were being thrown away and wasted. He succeeded in 
surmounting many prejudices against its introduction as a fuel, 
and at last obtained the consent of the railroads to carry it, 
since which he has devoted himself entirely to its sale. Through 
the influence of Colonel Smith the small coal has become the 
fuel of the age for steam. 

Ten years ago Colonel Smith purchased seventeen acres of 
ground on the Clove road, at West Brighton, on which he 
erected the handsome residence at present occupied by liim. 
Essentially a domestic man, he spends much of his time at his 
home, and he is widely known and highly esteemed in social 
circles both on Staten Island and in New York city. Mr. Smith 
married Miss Lucy P.Woods, of Pittsburg. He has four child- 
ren: R. Penn. Smith, Jr., Mary F., Morton W. and Edward G., 
all of whom reside with their parents. 




a: 
u 

CO 

-J <: 
5 ? 



o 







w 
o 



a 
< 

> 

z 
z 

a 

-3 

z 



h. 


U 
(/) 

D 

I 



CHAPTER X. 



THE PROFESSIONS OF LAW AND MEDICINE. 



The Bench and Bar.*— Henry B. Metcalfe.— AlvinC. Bradley.— Tompkins Wester- 
relt.- Lot C. Clark.— Robert Christie.— John and WilUam H. Anthon.— 
Theodore C. Vermilye.— List of Practising Attorneys.— Augustus Prentice.— 
Richmond County Jledical Society.— I. K. Ambrose.— Herman Beyer.— Alfred 
L. Carroll.— Ephraim Clark.— Alva D. Decker.— Henry S. Earl.— Joseph 
Feeny.— John L. Feeny.— R. Henry Colder.— Edwin A. Hervey.— George C. 
Hubbard.— Robert M. Ames.— F. E. Martindale. — James J. O'Dea. — S. A. 
Robinson.— Robert Rogerson. —Henry W. Sawtelle.— Samuel Russell Smith. — 
Walker Washington, Jr.— J. Walter Wood.— Notes of Quarantine Superin- 
tendence, etc. 



RICHMOND county, owing to its being, as a matter of fact, 
simply one of tlie many places of habitation for the 
business men of the city of New York, whose business is done 
in the city and by city lawyers and before city courts, has not 
in the past become the residence of any great number of the 
most eminent members of the bar. 

In the distribution of judicial districts and departments 
Richmond county is attached to the Second judicial district and 
department, and in the selections of judges for the higher state 
courts " little Richmond," by which appellation the county is 
known, has never been honored. Although lawyers have never 
been wanting competent and willing to fill the position of county 
judge and surrogate, such was the universal respect for and 
confidence in Judge Metcalfe that he held the position from the 
adoption of the constitution of 1846 until his age precluded 
him from further service. Judge Tompkins Westervelt and 
Judge Stephen D. Stephens, his successors, are noticed in 
sketches subjoined. The writer is unable to recall any litiga- 
tions of great public importance in the county, excepting the 
quarantine riot investigation (1859) and the murder trial of 
Polly Bodine (1844). The county has not, however, been lack 
ing in litigations of more than ordinary interest, such as 

*By Sidney F. Rawson. 



470 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

the will case of Mrs. Gardiner (the motlier-in-law of President 
Tyler), the Seguine will case, the ferry litigations between Cor- 
nelius Vanderbilt and George Law, John H. Starin and Erastus 
Wiman, and the late William T. Garner and the Xorth Shore 
Ferry Company. 

We append sketches of the lives of some of the more promi- 
nent of the legal fraternity. 

Hon. Henry B. Metcalfe was born January 20, 1805, at Johns- 
town, then Montgomery, now Fulton county, N. Y., and died 
at his residence in the town of Southfield, Richmond county, 
February 7, 1881, and was consequently in his 77th year at the 
time of his death. Judge Metcalfe was one of the seven chil- 
dren of Geoi'ge Metcalfe, who was at one time a man of consid- 
erable prominence in this state, having been appointed in 1796 
as.sistant attorney-general under Governor Jay, and having held 
the office of district attorney in this county — of which he be- 
came a resident in 181G, when his son Henry was 11 j^ears old. 
The Metcalfes were of English extraction, the progenitor of the 
family having come to this country from England in 1765. The 
family in England was one of some note. Henry Bleeker Met- 
calfe studied law with his father, and at his arrival at majority, 
in 1826, was admitted to the bar, a special examination having 
been accorded to him by the chancellor, in order that he might 
be admitted as an attorney, so as to become eligible to hold the 
office of district attorney, made vacant by his father's death. 
He was also appointed a master in the court of chancery, which 
latter office he held until the abolition of that court in 1846. 
He held the office of district attorney until 1833 — between that 
time and 1830 he was employed by the Staten Island Ferry Com- 
pany. In 18-10 he was appointed county judge and in the same 
year he became a United States boarding officer at quaran- 
tine, which latter place he held until 1843. In 1847 he was 
elected (that being the first election to that office under the 
constitution of 1846) county judge and surrogate of this county, 
which office he held continuously till 1875, at which time he re- 
signed to take his seat as a member of congress for the first 
congressional district of New York, in the forty-fourth congress, 
to which he had been elected. 

Judge Metcalfe was also a j^rominent member of the Masonic 
fraternity, and for many years was the active manager (in 
his office of secretary) of the Richmond County Mutual lusur- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 471 

ance Compan}\ The above is a brief record of Judge Metcalfe's 
ofRcial career. His life was an exceptional one, having held 
almost uninterruptedly, for a period of almost fifty-three years, 
some public office, and for all his adult life some place of trust. 
He was more favorably known to the people as surrogate 
than in any other capacity. His unvarying kindness to all 
who came in contact with him, his readiness at all times to 
render aid, give advice and otherwise help those who in sorrow 
and adversity sought his counsel, made him probably the most 
popular man in this county, and secured his election from time 
to time, sometimes without any, always without substantia], 
opposition. With one exception Judge Metcalfe held the of- 
fice of county judge and surrogate longer than any other officer 
in this state. As county judge he was more noted for his good 
sense and endeavors to get at the right of such matters, civil 
and criminal, as came before him, than he was for his knowl- 
edge of abstruse and intricate legal questions. He was the pre- 
siding judge of the court of sessions when, in 1856, several pub- 
lic officers of this county were indicted and convicted, as he was 
in 1872 when similar results were obtained. In their prosecu- 
tion Judge Metcalfe held the scales evenly balanced— neither 
jjopular prejudice nor personal friendship being allowed to inter- 
fere with the due course of the law — and when at the time of the 
quarantine riots several parties were brought before him on the 
serious charge of arson, Judge Metcalfe discharged the prison- 
ers, and took strong ground against the right of the city of New 
York to cast her infected dead and dying upon the shores of 
the island. In congress his most notable vote was perhaps that 
given for the creation of the electoral commission, for which he 
was somewhat criticised by his party friends, but his judgment 
was that the danger of anarchy and civil war which threatened 
were far greater than any harm that could come from a peace- 
able solution of the then pending question. 

He was the owner of a farm a short distance frcjm Richmond 
village, where he passed the latter years of his life, and where 
he i^eacefully passed away, surrounded by his family and 
friends. 

Judge Metcalfe's memory was honored at a bar meeting held 
at the Richmond county court house October 9, 1881, Hon. Cal- 
vin E. Pratt presiding. A suitable memorial, presented by 
Ex-District Attorney Sidney F. Rawson, was entered upon the 



472 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

irinutes of the court, and addresses were made by Hon. T. 
Westervelt, E. B. Merrill, Esq., and others. 

Among the many lawyers who have from time to time made 
their homes on Staten Island none have been more worthy of 
an enduring monument by the use of the " art preservative of all 
arts " than the late Alvin C. Bradley, who died at his residence 
near Castleton Corners, on Wednesday, February 23, 1881, 
aged 70 yeai'S and 7 months. 

Mr. Bradley was not a native of Richmond county, having 
removed hither from the western part of the state about 1851. 
He purchased the fine farm of Mr. Garrett Martling, located 
l^artly in Middletown and partly in Castleton, and removed 
into the farm house upon the premises. After residing there 
a few years, he erected a very commodious and tasteful man- 
sion iqion another portion of the farm from designs which were 
made under his personal direction. In this very comfortable 
and agreeable home he resided till his death. 

During the time of his residence on Staten Island, he con- 
tinued the practice of law in the city of New York, in which he 
had been engaged for a number of years previous, and which 
was of an important character, bringing him often very promi- 
nently before the jjublic. He took part in many interesting- 
trials and was engaged in arguments of much moment in the 
higher courts. One of the many cases in which he appeared 
was that of referee as to the alimony question in the great For- 
rest divorce case, a matter of great moment to the parties in 
the suit and involving a large amount of money. He was a 
lawyer of superior ability and was possessed of an acute and 
subtle mind, to the cultivation of which he had brought ver}' 
extensive reading. 

In politics, Mr. Bradley belonged to the old whig j)arty dur- 
ing its existence, and at one time ran for member of assembly 
on that ticket in this county. He afterward united with the 
republican party and continued a very ardent member of that 
faitli. About 1873 he was elected supervisor of the town of 
Middletown and served for one term. With him from the other 
■towns were gentlemen of much public spirit and intelligence, 
and the board which they composed was called the " Reform 
Board," and accomiilished very much in the way of regulating 
the affairs of the countj^, and bringing matters to a condition 
wherein the laws were more strictly observed by public officers. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 473 

* 

Mr. Bradley gave himself almost without intermission to the 
duties of his office and performed an immense deal of hard work 
in connection with it, for which the public were exceedingly 
grateful and are still enjoying the benefits of the same. The 
deceased was an invalid for three years, but found enjoy- 
ment during his enforced retirement in reading the books 
contained in his large and valuable private librarj'. At a 
meeting of the members of the bar shortly after Mr. Bradley's 
death, at which Hon. Calvin E. Pratt, justice of the supreme 
court, presided, a memorial on the life of Mr. Bradley was pre- 
sented and oi-dered entered upon the minutes of the court. Ed- 
ward B. Merrill, Esq. (now of the New York bar, then of Rich- 
mond county), delivered a very able address, and remarks were 
made by Hon. Tompkins Westervelt, George J. Greenfield, Hon. 
Theodore Frean, Sidney F. Rawson, Isaiah T. Williams, and 
others — and a letter was read from Charles O'Connor, saying 
that " his brethren not only I'ecognized the able lawyer but the 
true and honorable citizen, and as such they deplore his loss 
and honor his memory." 

Hon. Tompkins Westervelt was the son of Doctor John S. 
Westervelt and Hannah, his wife, the latter being the 
daughter of Hon. Daniel D. Tompkins. He was born and 
always resided at New Brighton, Staten Island. He graduated 
at the age of 21 years at Columbia College; was almost im- 
mediately admitted to the bar and continued in jDractice to the 
time of his death. 

He was a courteous gentleman and able lawyer, and perfectly 
upright in all his transactions. He was for several terms trustee 
of the village of New Brighton; was a vestryman in St. John's 
Protestant Episcopal church at Clifton; one of the founders of 
the S. R. Smith Infirmary; a director in the Staten Island Sav- 
ings Bank and for many years its counsel. In 1871 he was twice 
a candidate for the office of district attorney but was defeated 
each time. In 1875 he was elected county judge, which office 
he held with honor and distinction for six years. Judge West- 
ervelt died April 20, 1882, aged 52 years. At the term of the 
supreme court held in Richmond county in May, 1882, Hon. 
E. M. Cullen presiding, a meeting of the bar was held and a 
committee consisting of County Judge Stephens, Ex-District 
Attorney Rawson and George J. Greenfield. Esq., presented 
the following resolutions on the death of Judge Westervelt : 



474 JIISTORY OF KICIIMOND COUNTY. 

" Whereas, Tompkins Westervelt, a native of this county, 
who for lifty years resided thei-ein, and who for tliirty-one of 
these years was a practising lawyer, and who was honored by 
the people of his neighborhood and of tlie county by being 
placed in many positions of trust and responsibility, notably 
that of County Judge and Surrogate, has recently died, and 

" Whereas, During all those years. Judge Westervelt has led 
a blameless life, and has left to his family and friends a precious 
legacy in his record as a Christian gentleman, an able lawyer, 
an upright Judge and an honorable citizen; now, therefore, 

''Resolved, That the members of the Bar of Richmond 
County, and the profession generally, have in the death of 
Judge Westervelt lost an honored friend and an able member 
of their body; 

''Hemlved, That the people of this community have sustained 
a great loss in the death of Judge Westervelt. inasmuch as he 
was in every resi:)ect a good citizen, having at all times in his 
l^rivate, as well as in his public caj^acities, the best interests 
and welfare of the community at heart; 

''Resolved, Also, that in the Christian life of Judge Wester- 
velt we find the true attributes of manhood, and that we may 
all profit by his example; 

"Resolved, Further, that the Court be requested to order 
these resolutions to be entered at length upon its minutes." 

Eulogiums were pronounced by Mr. Greenfield, Mr. Rawson, 
Judge Stephens and others. 

LotC. Clark, who died at his residence in Seventeenth street, 
New York city, on February 11, 1880, in the 62d year of his 
age, was well known and highly respected throughout Rich- 
mond count^^ He was born in Chenango county, this state, 
being the son of Lot Clark, a distinguished lawyer, and at one 
time a member of congress. He was graduated at Yale, studied 
law in the office of the late Nicholas Hill, at Saratoga springs, 
and began his practice in Richmond county. Becoming district 
attorney in 1841, he filled with distinguished ability the office 
for eight years, diiring which time he prosecuted several noted 
cases, among them that of Mrs. Polly Bodine, who was indicted 
for the murder of her sister-in-law and her infant niece and for 
arson. Three times was this case tried, the final trial resulting 
in an acquittal, but during its continuance Mr. Clark won for 
himself a lasting rejjutation as an energetic, well instructed and 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 475 

able lawyer. Opposed to Mr. Clark in this case were Clinton 
De Witt and David Graham, the latter of whom especially 
became afterward recognized as one of the leading criminal 
lawyers. 

In 1856 Mr. Clark was married to Miss Frances Sutherland 
Irving, a daughter of Rev. Dr. Theodore Irving, and grand- 
daughter of the late Jacob Sutherland, a justice of the supreme 
court. In 1870 Mr. Clark removed to New York city. He was 
an active lay member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and 
his funeral took place from Calvary church, New York city. 
He was at one time at the head of the law firm of De Groot, 
Rawson & Stafford. 

Immediately after the decease of Mr. Clark the members of 
the bar met at the court house in Richmond county. Honor- 
able H. B. Metcalfe presided, Mr. George Gallagher was secre- 
tary, and large numbers of tlie legal profession were present. 
A committee, consisting of Honorable Tompkins Westervelt, 
George J. Greenfield, Esq., and Ex-District Attorney S. F. 
Rawson, was apjiointed to submit resolutions, and the following 
were presented and adopted, viz.: 

" WJiereas, The Bar of Richmond County has just sustained 
a severe loss in the death of Mr. Lot C. Clark, for many years 
its leading member and brightest ornament, and 

" Whereas, We desire to testify publicly our sense of this 
loss and our estimate and appreciation for our departed 
brother: 

""Resolved, That the Bar of Richmond County have learned 
with i^rofound sadness that Mr. Lot C. Clark has departed from 
the scene of earthly activity and usefulness; and recognizing in 
this event the serious loss sustained by themselves and the legal 
fraternity at large. 

" Resolved, That in Lot C. Clark we see one who combined 
all the best and highest attributes of the lawyer — purity of life, 
absolute faithfulness to the trusts confided to him, clear and 
discriminating intellect, legal erudition, unwearied toil and con- 
stant study, and great forensic ability; and added to these, 
those qualities that mark the good citizen — a dutiful son, a de- 
voted husband and father, a warm and unvarying friend, a good 
neighbor and a humble, devout Christian, 

•' Resolved, That the life and example of Lot C. Clark 
should be studied and followed by his surviving brethren, who, 



476 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

if they cannot reach the high rank which he held, can at least 
do their duty bj' striving to attain it by the means which he pur- 
sued, and can find in his course an encouragement to more 
earnest efforts. 

" Resolved, That these resolutions be presented to the court, 
with a request that the same be entered upon the minutes: 

" Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be prej^ared, at- 
tested by the chairman and secretary of this meeting, and trans- 
mitted to the family of the deceased." 

Eloquent addresses were made by Messrs. Westervelt, Green- 
field, Metcalfe and Rawson and the resolutions unanimously 
adopted. These addresses may be found in full in the Rich- 
mond county •'■Sentinel''' of February 21, 1880. 

Among the lawyers of prominence in the profession who are 
now deceased mention should be made of Hon. Robert Christie, 
who was state senator from the First senatorial district in 1864-5, 
and who was one of Richmond county's most active politicians 
and prominent lawyers. He resided for some time at Clifton in 
an elegant mansion and died there about 1873. He was a man 
of imposing personal appearance and had great natural talent, 
whicli, added to his legal training, made him one of the most 
talented lawyers of his day. 

The brothers John and William Henry Anthon (sons of John 
Anthon, an eminent lawyer of New York city), were for many 
years residents of Richmond county, and for a time controlled 
a large part of the legal business therein. John became grand 
master of the Masonic fraternity of New York state. William 
Henry was member of assembly from Richmond county in 1851, 
and judge advocate general of the state of New York in the 
early jiart of the civil war. Both of them were lawyers far 
above the average. John died about 1873, and William H. 
about 1875. 

Theodore C. Vermilye, who died about 1879, Avasa lawyer of 
considerable abilitj\ He was member of assembly in 1860, 
counsel to the board of supervisors of Richmond county for 
many years, was justice of the peace, town clerk and police 
justice of the village of New Brighton. 

Lawyers residing in Richmond county, in 1886 : 

Acker, Augustus, West New Brighton ; Alston, Lot C, Port 
Richmond. 

Benedict, Charles L., New Dorp post office. United States 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 477 

district judge, Eastern district ; Birmingham, D. Walton, 
Stapleton ; Bonner, George W., New Brighton; Boardman, 
Albert B., New Brighton ; Bntler, Aaron, New Brighton ; Butts, 
Thomas W., Marinei's' Harbor. 

Collins, William A., New Brighton ; Clark, Lester W., New 
Brighton; Crook, John, ex-district attorney. Port Richmond ; 
Crowell, E. B., New Brigliton ; Gary, Melbert B., New Brighton. 

Davison, C. Stewart, New Brighton; DeGroot, Alfred, ex- 
district attorney. Port Richmond ; DeKay, Sidney, New 
Brighton ; Delavan, Edward C, New Brighton ; Delavan, Ed- 
ward C, Jr., New Brighton ; Duer, John, New Brighton. 

Everett, William, Tompkinsville ; Elliott, Walter T., Totten- 
ville. 

Finch, Richard L. N., Tompkinsville; Fitzgerald, Thomas 
W., Mariners' Harbor, Fitzgerald, Daniel H., Mariners' Har- 
bor ; Frean, Theodore, Stapleton. 

Gallagher, George, district attorney Richmond county. West 
New Brighton ; Greenfield, George J., Staj)leton. 

Hubbe, Edward S., Stapleton ; Heydenreich, A., Tompkins- 
ville ; Hornfager, W. S., Stapleton; Huebner, Max C, Staple- 
ton. 

Johnston, George H., Port Richmond ; Jones, Patrick H., 
Port Richmond. 

Kenney, John I., New Brighton ; Killian, B. D., Totten- 
ville ; King, J. Travis, Port Richmond. 

McNamee, James, Stapleton ; Maccafferty, Augustus, Tomp 
kinsville ; MacFarland, William W., Stapleton; Mackellar, 
George M., West New Brighton ; Marsh, Nathaniel, Stapleton; 
McCarthy, John A., Tompkinsville; McMahon, Thomas, New 
Brighton ; Middlebrook, Charles T., New Brighton ; Mullen, 
William M., Stapleton ; Martin, John M., Port Richmond ; 
McNamee, Charles, Stapleton ; McKeon, Joseph I., Stapleton. 

Openshaw, Edward, New Brighton. 

Powers, William J., West New Brighton ; Prentice, Augus- 
tus, New Bi-ighton. 

Rawson, Sidney F., ex-district attorney. Port Richmond ; 
Robinson, Robert E., New Brighton ; Rawcliffe, Henry Alonzo, 
Stapleton ; Robinson, George W., Stapleton. 

Stafford, Dewitt, Port Richmond; Scoheld, George S., Jr., 
Stapleton.; Stewart, William A. W., New Brighton; Stephens, 
Stephen D., Richmond county judge. New Brighton. 



478 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

Talbot, John E., Stapletoa ; Telfair, Jacob E., Tompkins- 
ville ; Thompson, E. G., New Brighton; Townsend, \Villiam 
B., Stapleton ; Townsend, Henry D., Stapleton. 

Ulman, H. C, Stapleton; UUraan Percival G., Hnguenot, 
Rossville post office. 

"Vermilye, Theodore C, Tompkinsville ; Van Hoevenbnrgh, 
James D., Tompkinsville; Van Name, C. D., Mariners' Harbor; 
Van Ness, William E.. Mariners' Harbor. 

Welch, Joseph A., New Dorp; Warner, John Dewitt, New 
Brighton; White, Elias M., Stapleton; Willcox, David J. H., 
New Brighton; Wyeth, Nathaniel J., New Dorp ; Whitehead, 
A. P., New Brighton ; Winsor, Thomas, Rossville. 

Augustus Pkentice was born in New London county, Connec- 
ticut, September 30, 1826. A genealogy of the Prentice family 
in America, published in 188B, shows his ancestors on the 
father's side to have emigrated from Essex county, England, in 
the year 1631, and to have settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts. 
In the year 1700 one branch of the familj^ settled in the town 
of Nortli Stonington, Conn., and from this branch Mr. Prentice 
is a direct descendant. His father (Asa Prentice) was born in 
New London county, Conn., February 13, 1792, and at this date 
(1887) is still living and in the enjoyment of good bodily health 
and all his faculties. His ancestors on the mother's side were 
also among the earlier settlers of New England. His great- 
grandfather on the mother's side was a wholesale merchant 
and extensive real estate owner in Newport, Rhode Island, 
at the time the English bombarded that place during the revo- 
lutionary war, and had several houses nearly destroyed by 
English cannon balls. 

Until he arrived at the age of about 10 years his father was 
engaged in the dry goods business in Springfield, Mass., and 
Montpelier, Vermont, and in both places Mr. Prentice attended 
the public school. His father then retired from the mercantile 
business and pui-chased and moved to a large farm in Tolland 
county. Conn., where Augustus continued attending the public 
school for several years, after which he was sent for a year or 
two to a private school. Here his inclination to study began to 
show itself and he made rapid and thorough progress in the 
more substantial branches. Prom this private school he went, 
at about the age of 17 years, to Wilbraham academy, at Wil- 
braham, Mass. His attendance at this academy extended over 



1 1 iiii-iiiai - 






\ 



I' 




-■^^ ■'"oyAEriitc'mi. 




HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 479 

a period of three or four years. During tlie winter montlis lie 
tauglit school at West Hartford, Farmington and Old Windsor, 
in Conn., and one winter on Cape Cod. Having prepared him- 
self for college and made all his arrangements, even to packing 
his trunk preparatory to leaving the following day for college, 
he was brought to a sudden halt in his course. He was seized 
with violent hemorrhage which returned at periods for several 
months. Medical aid seemed of little avail, as the doctors pro- 
nounced his case one of enlargement of the heart. In the fall 
of that year he came to IVevv York city for the first time in his 
life to procure further medical advice. He was advised that his 
trouble arose from the lungs and that he must at once leave for 
Florida, which was then just coming into favorable notice. This 
advice was followed and though he had left home expecting to 
return, he immediately changed his plans, and late in Decem- 
ber was rowed from the Battery to a Maine vessel anchored just 
below bound up the St. John's I'iver, Florida, for lumber. He 
remained in Florida that winter, the following summer and the 
second winter before he left the state. About May of the 
second year he made a visit home and remained in New Eng- 
land during the summer and in the fall returned to Florida and 
spent his third and last winter in that state. Upon his return 
he comTnenced the study of the law in the office of Thomas W. 
Gierke, who was subsequently judge of the supreme court for 
the city of New York. He continued in Judge Clerke's office 
until his admission to the bar in the fall of 1851. lu the spring 
of 1852 he commenced practice in the city of New York. He 
was married at Gales Ferry, Connecticut, in June, 1855, to 
Catharine A., daughter of William Browning, Esq., and they 
commenced their married life in a house Mr. Prentice had just 
l^urchased in the city of New York. His attention having 
been accidentally called to Staten Island, and being much 
pleased with the place they determined to rent their city home 
and move to the island, which they did in the spring of 1858, 
when he built the house on Tompkins avenue in the village of 
New Brighton, where he lias long resided. At that time tliere 
were no incorporated villages on the island, the usual govern- 
ment of towns alone existing. In the summer of 1865 Mr. 
Prentice, having come to the conclusion that village govern- 
ment was desirable for that end of the island, proceeded to 
draft such a charter as he thought was suited to the wants of 



480 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

the community. Late in the fall he issued invitations to many 
of his neighbors and gentlemen active in public affairs to meet 
at the St. Mark's hotel and hear the proposed charter for the 
proposed village of New Brighton read, which was done, the 
charter approved, and a committee api)ointed to go to Albany 
and procure its passage. The village government first organ- 
ized in 1866. 

.January 30, 1866, their only child was born to them and was 
named Augustus Browning Prentice. Mi'. Prentice has steadily 
continued in the practice of his profession, through which he 
early formed the acquaintance of a large circle of business 
men in the city of New York. Through many years he has 
retained the legal business of most of them. Various corpora- 
tions have at different times come under his control as counsel, 
among them the Artizans' Bank, the St. Louis and St. Joseph 
Railroad Company, the St. Joseph and Denver City Railroad 
Company, which he formed by consolidating several smaller 
companies. In the constraction of this railroad he formed one 
of the executive committee. These corpoi-ations materially in- 
creased his already well established practice. Mr. Prentice's 
iinancial success has been due largely to his business tact and 
his ability to make good investments, which he has coutined 
largely to real estate, and of which he is an owner both on Staten 
Island and in New York city. He has a large income from his 
real estate, to say nothing of his income from his profession, 
from which alone he has made his fortune, as it is said he never 
speculates. Though often requested to become a director in 
different corporations, he has invariably refused. He did, how- 
ever, after much solicitation, accept the position of president 
of the Bank of Staten Island, which i)osition he holds at 
present. 

Richmond County Medical Society. — On the 10th of July, 
1806, five physicians met at the court house in the village of 
Richmond, for the purpose of organizing the first medical 
society in this county. Their names were Benjamin Parker, 
Isaac Stewart, Richard Henderson, I. B. Halsey and John R. B. 
Rodgers. This organization was the consequence of the enact- 
ing of certain laws of the state (April 8 preceding) which were 
deemed necessary to regulate the practice of physic and surg- 
ery, pronouncing none but members of county societies whose 
diplomas must have been filed in the office of the county clerk 



HISTORY OF KICinrOND COUNTY. 481 

to be regularly authorized physicians. Meetings of the society 
were regnlarly held down to 1832, since which time there are no 
records of the meetings until a reorganization was effected. 
The records do not state who the first president was, but at a 
meeting held July 17, 1807, Benjamin Parker was chosen pres- 
iden t. 

On the evening of January 17, 1855, a meeting was held at 
the Tompkins Lyceum, Tompkinsville, for the purpose of tak 
ing preliminary measures to reorganize the " Medical Society 
of the County of Richmond." The meeting was composed of 
the following physicians : John S. Westervelt, James Harcourt, 
Isaac Lea, John W. Sterling, William C. Anderson, James R. 
Boardman, F. Campbell Stewart, Joseph Feeny, E. W. Prender- 
gast, Y. Hestizka, C. Gr. Rotha, H. R. Baldwin, Theodore 
Walser, J. C. Cavelti and Edward C. Mundy. A committee 
was appointed to prepare or revise the constitution and by-laws 
and report at a subsequent meeting. The chairman of this 
meeting was Doctor Westervelt. At the next meeting, held at 
the same place, February 2, 1855, the report of the committee 
was presented and accepted, and the constitution and by-laws 
prepared by them were adopted. Dr. John W. Sterling was 
chosen president of the society. 

The officers in 1886 were : R. Henry Golder, jDresident ; F. U. 
Johnston, vice-j)resident; E. D. Coonly, secretary and treasurer; 
J. Walter Wood, Herman Beyer, T. J. Thompson, censors. 

The members are : J. K. Ambrose, Clifton; Frank Anderson, 
U. S. N. ; J. A. Andrews, Clifton; Herman Beyer, Stapleton; 
A. L. Carroll, New Brighton; F. E. Clark, West New Brighton; 
J. G. Clark, West New Brighton; E. D. Coonly, Mariners' 
Harbor; J. L. Feeny, Stapleton; R. H. Golder, Rossville; H. R. 
Harrison, Port Richmond; G. C. Hubbard, Tottenville; F. U. 
Johnston, Stapleton; I. Lea, Stapleton; Anna Lukes, West 
New Brighton; F. E. Martindale, Port Richmond; I. L. Mills- 
paugh, Richmond; Jefferson Scales, Stapleton; Thomas J. 
Thompson, Clifton; J. J. Van Rensselaer, New Brighton; T. 
Walser, New Brighton; W. C. Walser, Port Richmond; E. J. 
Westfall, Tottenville; Rudolph Mautner, Stapleton; Mary R. 
Owen, Eltingville; F. Walter Wood, Port Richmond; W. E. 
Bowne, Tompkinsville. 

In addition to those belonging to the medical society the fol- 
lowing physicians are registered in the countj^ : Henry E. Earl, 
31 



482 JIISTOKY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

West Brighton ; Alice Avery, Nursery and Child's Hospital ; 
S. V. R. Bogart, New Brighton; Samuel Adams Robinson, West 
New Brighton ; Caleb Lyon, Rossville ; Robert Roger^on, Port 
Richmond ; David Emory Holman, Stapleton (Seaman's Re- 
treat) ; Eugene B. Sanborn, Quarantine: Alva D. Decker, 
Pleasant Plains ; James Oliver Van Hoevenberg, Eltingville ; 
Gottlieb Stein, Stapleton ; William M. Smith, Clifton ; Thomas 
Washington Donovan, New Brighton ; Ferdinand Gustav 
Behine, New Brighton ; Thomas B. Newby, Stapleton ; George 
Milton La Rue, Tottenville; James J. O'Dea, Stapleton; Thomas 
Sheppard Goodwin, West New Brighton ; Theodore D. Lyons, 
Port Richmond ; Edward Francis Arnoux, N. Y. city ; A. C. 
Montgomery, West New Brighton ; Henry Mitchell Rogers, 
Tompkinsville; Frank E. Wilson, Stapleton; Albert D. Jaupet, 
West New Brighton; L. L. Doolittle, Stapleton; William Bryan, 
West New Brighton ; William Francis Bowue, Tompkinsville ; 
Edwin A. Hervey, Rossville ; Henr\' W. Sawtelle, Stapleton ; 
Robert P. M. Ames, Stapleton ; William Rose, Stapleton ; 
David Coleman, Tottenville ; Charles Wooster Butler, Port 
Richmond ; Joseph Henry McDougall, New Brighton; Walker 
Washington, Tottenville. 

The following brief personal notes of some members of the 
medical fraternity will be an appropriate sequel to the fore- 
going : 

L K. Ambrose, lately a resident of Townsend avenue, Clifton, 
but at present residing in New York city, still practices on the 
island. He is a member of the Richmond County Medical So- 
ciety, and was for a term county coroner. He was born in Ii'e- 
land, about forty-eight years ago, received his early education 
in colleges in Ireland and France, and graduated in medicine 
and surgery at the Long Island College hospital, in Brooklyn, 
in 1870. During his stay on Staten Island, he became a general 
favorite, especially among the Irish, and had a large practice. 
He was known as the " Irish Doctor," being the only one of 
,that nationality in the county at the time. 

Dr. Herman Beyer was born in Coblentz, Germany, in 183S. 
Having received a private Latin school education he studied phar- 
macy in Westjihalia, as a preliminary step to the study of med- 
icine, in 1856 he served in the Prussian army as pharmaceutist. 
He sailed for this country in 1860. In April, 1861, he enlisted as 
a private in the Eighth regiment, N.Y. V. In 1862 he was trans- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 4S3 

ferred to the medical department, where he served as pharma- 
ceutist until the end of the war. He then began the study of 
medicine at Bellevue hospital, where he graduated in 1869, and 
took an extra cour.se in 1877 and 1878, besides a private course 
of Dr. F. Knapp's, in 1878 and 1879, in the Eye and Ear In- 
firmary. He commenced practice at Astoria, L. I., in 1869, 
and removed to Staten Island in 1880. 

Alfred Ludlow Carroll was born in the citj' of New York on 
the 4th of August. 1833, educated at sundry private schools, 
and in the University of New York, studied medicine with the 
late Dr. Valentine Mott, and was graduated M. D. from the Uni- 
versity of New York in 1855 ; removed to Staten Island in 
1870; elected secretary of the state board of health in March, 
1884 ; resigned February 1st, 1866. 

Dr. Ephraim Clark, who for many years has been actively 
and intimately associated with most of the prominent move- 
ments and public enterprises of the island, was born in Rah- 
way, N. J., in 1797. He studied medicine with Dr. Valentine 
Mott, of New York, and afterward graduated in the college of 
the state medical society at New Brunswick. In 1820 he came 
with some friends on a gunning expedition to the island, and 
was so well pleased with the people and surroundings of Port 
Richmond that he decided to make that place his home. He 
accordingly located there, and soon found himself in the en- 
joyment of a lucrative practice. He grew into popular favor, 
and, being a remarkably active and ready man, he naturally 
fell into a prominent position in nearly every benevolent and 
progressive movement of the day. 

On the arrival of General Lafayette, on bis last visit to this 
country, Dr. Clark was a member of the committee that re- 
ceived the distinguished soldier at the residence of Governor 
Tompkins, who was then vice-president of the United States, at 
the old mansion at Tompkinsville. The general came to Staten 
Island before going to New York city, and remained at Gov- 
ernor Tompkins' residence during his sojourn. On the evening 
of his arrival a grand reception was given, and throngs of 
people gathered at the j^lace to greet the gallant Frenchman. 
Among the guests were the leading men of the country. On 
his departure for New York city on the following morning 
business was suspended, shops and stores were closed, and the 
people thronged the landing and the shore of the bay to see 



484 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

him oflP, while the water was literally alive with all manner of 
craft which came to witness or escort his passage from the 
island to the city. Over the grand concourse of shipping, said 
to be the most magnificent ever witnessed in New York bay, 
floated the flags of all nations. On this occasion Governor 
Ogden, of New Jersey, came to greet Lafayette. They had 
been intimate friends during the revolution and as they met 
now they squarely embraced each other, and Doctor Clark says 
he never witnessed a more affectionate greeting than was mani- 
fested by them. 

Kossuth, on his visit to America, was a guest of Doctor 
Doane, health officer at quarantine, and was entertained at his 
residence. The reception committee were Doctor Westervelt, 
Doctor Clark, Samuel French, Judge Clavvson, and Richard 
Adam Locke. The latter delivered the welcoming address. 
General Garibaldi was present, and made a pleasing address. 
Kossuth made an affecting reply, and the words of the great 
patriot found a warm place in every heart. A large procession 
formed and escorted the distinguished visitor to the old Dutch 
Reformed church, now used as a carriage manufactory in 
Tompkinsville, in which the Tompkins Guards, a local infantry 
company, took the lead. 

When General Jackson made his famous visit to New York, 
Doctor Clarke was also a member of the reception committee 
that met the old soldier at Port Richmond and escorted him to 
New York city, where they landed near the present site of 
Castle Garden. Other members of that committee were Colonel 
Barton, Doctor Van Pelt, Doctor Harrison and Colonel Barrett. 

Doctor Clark was with Doctor Harrison, an attendant physi- 
cian to Aaron Burr, during his sojourn on the island. He was 
also the committee appointed by the officers of the Reformed 
church to secure the services of a pastor, and through his 
agency the Reverend Doctor Brownlee was brought to this 
church, which he has so acceptably served for more than half 
a century. 

Doctor Clark was appointed surgeon of the One Hundred and 
Forty-sixth regiment of infantry by Governor Yates in 1823, 
and having resigned that position was in 1837 appointed sur- 
geon of the Sixty-fifth regiment, N. Y. militia, by Governor 
Marcy. He was afterward an aid-de-camp, with the rank of 
polonel, to the general commanding the second division of in- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 485 

fantry, receiving liis appointment from Governor Seward. 
During the rebellion he was appointed post surgeon at Camp 
Sprague, New Dorp, and while holding that position examined 
over 4,000 men. He was a delegare to the Charleston conven- 
tion of 1860 that nominated Breckenridge and Lane ; and held 
at different times offices of trust among his fellow citi- 
zens, such as supervisor of the town, physician of the county 
jail, a charter member of the first Masonic lodge on the island, 
and others. His was a life of action, up to the very end. He 
died at a ripe old age, in November, 1885. 

Dr. Alva D. Decker was born at Marksboi'o, N. J., July 8, 
1848 ; educated in public schools, and in the collegiate institute 
of Newton, N. J.; studied medicine under Doctors Sayre, of 
Newton, and Miller, of Andover, N. J. ; attended lectures at, 
and received his di]iloma from the Long Island College Hos- 
pital, Brooklyn, in the class of 1876. He located at Pleasant 
Plains, S. I., in June, 1877, and is still practicing in the same 
town, and also has a drug store in connection with his prac- 
tice. 

Henry E. Earl was born at Clapham, England, May 26, 1837. 
He is a graduate of Columbia Veterinary College, Apiril 23, 
1879 ; also of the United States Medical College, March 4, 1880. 
He is now president of the New York State Academy of Veter- 
inary Science and Comparative Pathology, and second vice- 
president of the National Veterinary Medical Association. 

Older residents of Staten Island will recall, as they read this 
sketch, the studious features and scholarly bearing of Dr. 
Joseph Feeny, whose name was for many years conspicuous as 
a leader in the social, business and intellectual life of Richmond 
county. He was born at Sligo, in Ireland, March 19, 1813, and 
was the first of his family to settle in America. A person of 
more than average mental vigor, he gave his early years to the 
acquirement of a thorough classical education (in Trinity Col- 
lege, Dublin) which he afterward used with effect in his profes- 
sion as a teacher. The obtaining of an education with him, as 
with the majority of young men of his daj', was a combined 
struggle for knowledge and physical support. In 1836 he 
entered the " University of the State of New York, College of 
Physicians and Surgeons," from which he did not graduate 
till 1850, his course being divided between the years 1837 and 
1839, and again between 1840 and 1849. During these intervals 



486 HISTORY OF Richmond county. 

he was engaged in teaching, a capacity in whicli, perhaps, 
thougli his later years were mostly spent in mercantile pursuits, 
he will be best remembered on Stateu Island. He was first 
engaged as Latin and Greek tutor in the academy of Doctor 
Fitch, but from ]841 to 1849 he conducted a highly successful 
classical school of his own in which many of Staten Island's 
most prominent men were pi'epared for college and business. 

In 1849, shortly before his graduation, Doctor Feeny opened 
a drug store at Stapleton, the first one in Richmond county. 
It stood on the same ground as that now occupied by his son, 
James Feeny, and is in fact the same store, with alterations 
necessary to the times. Previous to its establishment Rich- 
mond county physicians had been obliged to supply their own 
medicines, but the new enterprise revolutionized matters in this 
respect. Doctor Feeny continued to conduct this store till 1863, 
when he sold it to his son, James Feeny, who still conducts it, 
and who received his diploma from the " Board of Pharmacy 
of the City of New York," in September, 1872. 

In 1863 Doctor Feeny began practicing regularly as a physi- 
cian, removing his office to Jersey City in 1864. In 1865 he was 
appointed health officer of that city, and on January 9, 1866, 
he died. 

In Jersey City, as on Staten Island, Doctor Feeny won the 
esteem and approbation of his fellow citizens by his careful at- 
tention to his own and the public affairs. At his death the 
common council of the city passed resolutions of sympathy, 
and many influential gentlemen took occasion to express their 
sorrow at his loss. He was an unostentatious man. His man- 
ners were quiet but impressive. A constant student, and one 
who, during his life, took advantage of every favorable circum- 
stance to increase his store of knowledge, he became and was 
recognized as a man of culture and great attainments. During 
his medical course he enjoyed the advantage of attending the 
lectures of Willard Parker, Robert Watts, Jr., Gurdou Buck 
and Professor Gillman. This, together with his extended ex- 
perience, made him an authority on medic-al subjects. 

He had seven children, of whom four still survive. Of these, 
three reside on Staten Island : James, who succeeded his father 
in the drug business, John L., and Anna, who graduated from 
the state normal school at Albany, and who is the wife of 
Thomas Gordon of Stapleton. She was for some time princijjal 




^^'hyABBitc*!^- 




HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 487 

of district school ISTo. 2, town of Middletown, and many who 
studied under her have since achieved distinction. 

John L. Feeny, M.D., present health officer of the village of 
Edgewater, and one of the foremost physicians on Staten Is- 
land, was born at Stapr^'^on, May 29, 1845. His early educa- 
tion received the special attention of his father, and at the age 
of fifteen he entered the ''Coaiiiau's P-^t- — <: ~^ ..r>;f-] " >aere 
he remained for eight years. After a preparatory course un- 
der Dr. T. C. Moflfat, he attended the " University of the City 
of New York, Medical Department," from which he graduated 
among the highest in his class, in 1866. During his college 
course he studied under the famous physicians, Valentine Mott, 
Alfred C. Post, William H. Van Buren, Alfred Loomis and 
John T. Metcalfe, also under Professors Budd, Paine and the 
three Drapers. After leaving the university he supplemented 
the instruction there received with a special and private course 
under Professor Ayelette. 

Almost immediately upon the completion of his student life 
he received an appointment as house physician of the "Sea- 
man's Retreat," which he resigned in 1869 to enter on private 
practice in Stapleton. Here he still remains. In 1870 he was 
appointed physician to the " Metropolitan Police," and detailed 
to special duty. To obtain this position he was obliged to un- 
dergo an examination before the eighteen physicians who, at 
that time, constituted the board. For the last four years he 
has held the position of health officer of the town of Middle- 
town and the village of Edgewater, is at present examining 
physician of the "Mutual Reserve Fund," and has been .since 
its organization vice-president of the "Staten Island Academy." 
He is also a member of the Richmond County Medical Society 
and of the Presbyterian church. As a republican he has taken 
a pj'ominent part in the politics of the county. 

Doctor Feeny has now been in active practice more than sixteen 
years, during which time many remarkable cases have come un 
der his notice and have been treated by him. He adds to his 
large experience an intense love not only of his profession but 
of all scientific and artistic study. He is up in the classics, has 
travelled considerably, and has taken a deep interest in historic 
research. His cordial manners and general intelligence have 
long been noticed by those who enjoy his acquaintance, and 
have resulted in endearing him to them. This is shown in the 



'o 



488 HISTORY OF EICHMOKD COUNTY. 

fact that he has several times been tendered nominations to po- 
litical office, which, however, private interests have necessitated 
him to decline. 

He was married Jnne 9, 1870, to Miss Emma L. Bateman, of 
Portland, Me.* They have had five c'lildren, one of whom is 
dead. No physician has to any greater degree succeeded in 
winning the confidence or aflfectij"- of those around him than 
has Doctor Feeny. The deep interest which he has taken in 
the health of the community in which he lives, and the county 
at large, and especially the freedom with which he responded 
to calls made on him for lectures on hygienic subjects during 
the recent cholera agitation will long be remembered with pleas- 
ure by the people of Staten Island. 

Dr. R. Henry Golder has been president of the connty medi- 
cal society since July, 1884. He was born in 1820, at Phila- 
delphia, Pa., moved to New York city in 1839, received a 
diploma of license from the New York Medical Society in 
1846; received the degree of M. D. from the University Medi- 
cal College of New York city in 1851. He practised in the 
town of Westfield thirty-five years, and in New Jersey for 
five years i^revious. He has held the following offices in this 
county : sui:)erintendent of common schools, commissioner of 
highways, associate judge for four years of the courts of oyer 
and terminer and sessions, and is at present health officer of 
the town of Westfield. 

Edwin A. Hervey was born January 16, 1824, in South Dur- 
ham, Greene county. New York. He I'eceived his early educa- 
tion in the district schools of his native town, and from private 
tutors. At the age of 17 years he was invited to teach the 
school in his district which he accepted, and continued in that 
vocation for live years in the different schools of his county. 
He was then offered a situation near Ellenville, Ulster 
county, as clerk and bookkeeper in a store, tannery- and saw- 
mill, where he remained two years. He then engaged as 
teacher in Westfield, Richmond county, New York, vrhere he 
continued about ten years, during the last six of which he re- 
sided with Dr. E. W. Hubbard, and received his prej^aratory 
course of medical instruction. He then entered the University 

*She was a daughter of John F. Bateman, who distinguished himself, together 
with De Lesseps, in the Panama Construction Company, of which he was chief 
engineer. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 489 

Medical College of the city of New York, whence he graduated 
in March, 1859, and has since practiced in Rossville. 

George C. Hubbard, M. D., is a grandson of Fairchild Hub- 
bard, who resided in Jefferson county, N. Y. By his marriage 
to Miss Ward were born fouv ions and four daughters, the eldest, 
Heber W. Hubbard, also a native of the same county, having 
removed to Ohio, where he engaged in the practice of medicine. 
He was united in marriage to Honor Martha Kingsbury, of 
Massachusetts, and had children, George C, Delia D., wife of D. 
C. Clapp, Van Buren, William W., Edwin K., and Alice S., wife 
of David Pepper. The birth of George C, the eldest, occurred 
on the 8th of June, 1831, in La Grange, Ohio, from whence he 
removed with his parents to Elyria in the same state. Here he 
pursued his academic studies, and subsequently entered Dela- 
ware College, located at Delaware, Ohio. Soon after he 
entered mercantile life and remained thus occupied until 1856, 
when the profession of medicine proving more attractive, he 
became a student in his father's office, and was graduated from 
the New York Medical University in 1859. Doctor Hubbard 
began his professional career at Tottenville, where his father 
had previously removed, and has since that time continued in 
active practice at this point. On the 16th of September, 1862, 
he entered tlie United States service as assistant surgeon of the 
One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Regiment New York Volunteers, 
was later commissioned surgeon, and continued with this regi- 
ment until his discharge Sejitember 16, 1865. The doctor on 
his return from the service resumed his practice at Tottenville, 
where he has since resided. His thorough medical training 
and wide experience have enabled him to take a leading rank 
in his profession, and brought a correspondingly extended field 
of labor. His skill in diagnosis and success in the treatment 
of disease in its various forms have caused his presence to be 
much sought in consultation. In 1883 he was appointed physi- 
cian to the mission of the Immaculate Virgin at Mount Loretto, 
Staten Island. The doctor is a member of tlie Richmond County 
Medical Society. He is also an active mason, and was master 
of Huguenot Lodge, No. 881, of Tottenville, and High Priest of 
Staten Island Chapter, No. 196, R, A. M. Doctor Hubbard was 
married February 26, 1866, to Miss Carrie L., daughter of 
Joseph Wesley Totten, of Tottenville. Their children are: Van 
Eber, Fannie, deceased, and George C, Jr. 



490 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Dr. Robert M. Ames was born in Springfield, Mass., October 
20, ISHT, and was edncated in the same place, taking a collegiate 
coarse, after graduating from Springfield high school in 1876. 
His diploma (medical) was received from Jefferson Medical 
College, Philadelphia, Pa., in 1880, after a three years' course. 
He is a past assistant surgeon in United Stales marine hospital 
service, and executive officer of the station which rents the Sea- 
man's Retreat building, and has from one hundred and twenty- 
five to one hundred and fifty patients in hand all the time. 

Dr. F. E. Martindale is a native of Sandy Hill, Washington 
county, N. Y. , being the youngest of three sons of the late 
Hon. Henry C. Martindale, at the time of his death the oldest 
and most distinguished member of the bar in his section of the 
state. Dr. Martindale is an alumnus of Union College, where 
he graduated in 1849. He took his degree of M. D. at the Al- 
bany Medical College, as a pupil of the late Dr. Alden March, 
who then occui)ied the chair of surgery in that institution. 
Soon afterward he was appointed deputy health officer of the 
port of New York, during the administration of Gov. Myron 
H. Clark. Doctor Martindale is one of the oldest and most es- 
teemed of the medical profession in Richmond county, occupy- 
ing the responsible positions of president of the medical board 
of the " Nursery and Child's Hospital," and visiting surgeon 
to the S. R. Smith Infirmary. He was in the medical corps of 
both the army and navy, at different periods during the late 
war. 

Dr. James J. O'Dea was born in Toronto, Canada, September 
6, 1837. He received his classical education at Upper Canada 
College, and at the College of Saint Sulpice, Montreal, and his 
medical education at Trinity College, Toronto, and Mc- 
Gill University Medical College, Montreal. He received his 
diploma as doctor of medicine and surgery, from McGill Univer- 
sity in the spring of 1859. He began the practice of medicine 
in his native city where he soon attained prominence. After 
practicing six years in Canada he removed to New York, where 
he acquired position as a writer and practitioner. He contributed 
to the " New Yorlc Psycliological Journal,^^ and to the " New 
York Medical Journaiy He was also corresponding member 
of the Canadian Institute, and in 1871 was chairman of the 
committee on criminal abortion which drew up the law on that 
offense as it now exists in this state. 



HISTORY OF IIICHMOND COUNTY. 491 

After laboring for six years in New York lie removed to 
Staten Island, where he acquired a large practice to which he 
has devoted himself. In 1882 he published, through Messrs. 
Putnam's Sons, a volume on suicide, the first of the kind by any 
American writer, which was r"^':5eived with favoi^' v^*^"- - ^^^^ 
and abroad. Besides this, his Magnum Opus, ne has written 
on a variety of scientific subjects, of which the following are 
chief: " Hereditary Influence in Mental Diseases," " Plea of In- 
sanity in Criminal Cases," " Sphere, Rights and Obligations 
of Medical Experts," " Principles of Criminal Law as applied 
to Insanity," and " The Physiology and Psychology of 
Dreams." 

Samuel Adams Robinson, M. D., was born in Franklin, Pa. 
He is a son of Rev. John Robinson, D. D., a native of Freder- 
ick countj^, Va., who was a direct descendant of the Scotch- 
Irish family Robinson, settled in Ulster, Ireland, by James I. 
in 1603. The parents of Reverend Doctor Robinson, John and 
Rosanna Robinson, were the first representatives of the family 
in America. They brought with them a strong faith in the 
Protestant doctrine, with which they had been early inculcated, 
and their son, on finishing his collegiate course at the age of 
21, immediately entered the ministry of the Methodist Episco- 
pal churcli. In it he labored with great success for more than 
fifty years, being widely known in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New 
York and Ohio, and filling every position in the gift of his 
church except that of bishop. He now resides with the doctor, 
and though over 80 years of age retains his mental and physical 
powers to a remarkable degree. 

The doctor's mother, Hannah Walker Adams Plumer, was 
born at Pittsburgh, Pa., and died at the residence of her son in 
1886, in the 76th year of her age. She was a noble example of 
Christian womanhood, admired and respected by all who saw 
her and beloved by all who knew her. Her mother, Patty 
Adams, was born near Boston, Mass., and was closely related 
to Samuel and John Adams, the well-known statesmen and 
orators of the American revolution. Patty Adams was the wife 
of Major Samuel Plumer, of I^ewburyport, Mass., a member of 
the old Plumer family of that state. Major Plumer was the 
son of Nathaniel Plumer, who settled at Pittsburgh, in Penn- 
sylvania, where he purchased a large estate, much of which his 
descendants still own. The granite mansion which he built, 



492 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

and in which Doctor Robinson s mother was born, has always 
been occupied by the family. The major settled in Venango 
county, Pa., when it was a wilderness. He became i^ossessed 
of large trar«^° oi land and established a family which is among 
the .1- -oi prominent in that state. 

Both of Doctor Robinson's grandfathers died in middle life, 
leaving their wives, neither of whom married again, to bring up 
large families, which they did admirably, training them to lives 
of usefulness and honor. Both lived to old age, retaining their 
mental powers till the last and enjoying the satisfaction of 
knowing that every child was doing well. The Hon. James 
Robinson, of West Virginia, Judge Benjamin Adams Plumer 
and the Hon. Arnold Plumer, of Pennsylvania, were the most 
prominent of their childi'en. 

Doctor Robinson was chiefly educated by his father. He 
showed an early predilection for medicine and began study for 
his profession with Dr. Edward Lawrence Lakin when about 
16 years of age, finishing a regular four years' course and re- 
ceiving the degree of M. D. at Cleveland, Ohio, before he was 
20. He has since spent six years in professional study, princi- 
jially in N"ew York, London, Paris, Vienna and Berlin. He is 
a highly esteemed member of Crescent Lodge, No. 402, F. & 
A. M., Palestine Commandery, No. 18, K. T., and of the four 
regular A. A. Scottish I'ite bodies of New York city; also of 
Tyrian Chapter, R. A. M., of Staten Island. He took an active 
part in founding Saint Austin's school, of which he is a trus- 
tee, also in the organization and establishment of the Kill von 
Kill Working-men's Club and Institute of West New Brighton, 
of which the Hon. Erastus Brooks was the first president, and 
upon the death of whom Doctor Robinson was unanimously 
chosen to succeed him. He is also a director in one of the 
largest life insurance companies of New York city and chair- 
man of its investment committee. 

He has a large and v^ery select general practice, extending into 
New York and Brooklyn, in each of which cities he treats 
many excellent families. In chronic diseases he has patients 
frf)m the most distant states of the Union. He has been a 
widower since 1874. His wife was the eldest daughter of the 
Hon. Hiram Greely Butler, of Pennsylvania, who was a cousin 
of Horace Greely. He has but one child. Rush Robinson, wliu 
resides with his father. Doctor Robinson is well known in 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COlJNTy. 493 

professional and social circles and enjoys the esteem of all with 
whom he is brought into contact. In addition to his acknowl- 
edged skill and large exx^erience he has a high sense of personal 
and professional honor, which renders him at once the safe 
confidant and true friend of his patients. 

Dr. Robert Rogerson was educuated in the University of 
Edinburgh, Scotland, and graduated there as an L. M. in 1859; 
also in September, 1859, he graduated in Glasgow, Scotland, as 
physician, surgeon and accoucheur. During the last sixteen 
years he has practiced in Port Richmond, his practice being 
that of the liberal school. 

Dr. Henry W. Sawtelle was born in 1842, at Sidney, Maine, 
and was educated at Waterville, in the same state. He was 
graduated at the University of Georgetown, D. C. (medical de- 
partment), March 3, 1868, and began practice on the island in 
May, 1883. Being an officer of the United States marine hos- 
pital service, he moved the hospital from Bedloe's Island to the 
old Seaman's Retreat, which was leased in behalf of the gov- 
ernment for use as a marine hospital in 1883. He remained in 
charge until June 15, 1885, when he was ordered to another 
port. 

Dr. Samuel Russell Smith was born at Waterbury, Connec- 
ticut, on the lOtli day of April, 1801. At the age of fonr- 
teen he became a clerk in a bookstore in the city of New York, 
and later entered the drug business, and at the same time com- 
menced the study of medicine, in due time graduating at the 
University of the State of New York, in the class of 1828. In 
May of that year, he came to Tompkinsville, and began the 
practice of his profession, which he pursued successfully until 
his death, which occurred December 24, 1851. 

He devoted himself assiduously to his profession, in which 
he was remarkably successful. He was no respecter of persons, 
for all ranks and conditions of life equally received his atten- 
tions when required. The following instance of the goodness 
of his heart is related by Clute : 

"One cold winter night, after a more than ordinary fatiguing 
day's work, he was awakened bj^ a loud rap at his door. Upon 
an.swering the call, he found a poor lighterman there, who 
said his wife required the doctor's services as soon as possible. 
'I will come immediately,' was his reply. Without delay he 
prepai'ed himself to face thf^ snow-storm which was raging 



494 HISTORV OF RICHMOND COUNT V. 

without, and hastened to the lighterman's dwelling. After he 
had performed the duty required of him, and as he was prepar- 
ing to return to his home, the lighterman tendered him five 
silver dollars, at the same time remarking, ' I have been saving 
up this money for several weeks, knowing that I would soon 
need your services, but as there is but little doing in my busi- 
ness at this season of the year, it is all I have been able to raise.' 

" 'No, no,' replied the doctor, putting his hand behind him, 
' you need that money just now more than I do ; your ex- 
penses, in the present condition of your family, will be heavier 
than usual, so instead of taking your money, you must allow 
me to add to it,' at the same time laying a five-dollar bank note 
on the table, and hurrying away to avoid hearing the poor man's 
expressions of gratitude. This was so characteristic of the 
man, that when the recipient of the doctor's bounty related 
the circumstance to his fellows on the following morning it 
created no surprise whatever, but one of them remarked, 
'That's just like Doctor Smith.' Though the saying that a 
man ' had not an enemy in the world ' has become exceedingly 
trite, it was never more applicable than to the subject of this 
sketch. The grief of the community at his death was universal." 

Dr. Walker Washington, Jr., was born near Fredei'icksburg, 
Va., on the 23d of November, 1860. He attended school under a 
private teacher for several years, until he commenced his colle- 
giate education. He spent three years at the Randolph Macon 
College, of Ashland, Hanover county, Ya., and completed his 
collegiate course at Richmond College, Va. After leaving there 
he took up the study of medicine and received his diploma 
from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, in iNIarch, 1885. He 
removed to Tottenville, Staten Island, October 28, 1885. 

Dr. J. Walter Wood is the youngest child of Walter D. and 
Catherine S. Wood, and a descendant of the Dongan family. 
He is a native of the island, and was born at Mariners' Harbor, 
April 23, 1856. The doctor attended the district school of his 
native place and several private schools. He then moved to the 
city and graduated from " Grammar School No. 35." He im- 
mediately entered the "College of the City of New York," in 
the academic department, passed through it with honors and 
received the degree of A. B., in 1878. He then entered the 
" College of Physicians and Surgeons," from which he gradu- 
ated three years later. He afterward settled in Madison, N. J., 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 495 

and in September, 1881, married Miss Mat tie Sprague, second 
daughter of Pi'of. J. S. Sprague, then of West New Brighton. 
In September, 1882, his health failing, he sold his practice in 
New Jersey, and located at Port Richmond, S. I., where he soon 
gained a lucrative practice. He stands high in the Masonic 
order, is an active member of Richmond County Medical So- 
ciety, and is one of the stewards of Giace M. E. church. 

Major George Howard, a resident of tlie city of New York, 
after having been boarding officer of the port for eleven years, 
was appointed keeper of pul)lic stores at Staten Island in the 
year 1830; consequently he moved with his family to the island. 
He erected on Brighton Heights a tine mansion, the tirst one 
built on the Heights. After occupying it a few years, he sold 
the house and grounds to John Anthon (in the year 1838), for 
$22,000. He then removed to the village (Tompkinsville) where 
he resided until the year 1844, when (owing to political changes) 
he resigned his office as public storekeeper. 

Dr. John T. Harrison was for many years mate of the marine 
hospital, and subsequently health officer. Dr. John S. AVester- 
velt served five years as mate to the marine hospital, from 1823 
to 1827, inclusive, under John T. Harrison. Dr. Westervelt was 
appointed health officer in the year 1829, in which capacity he 
served till 1836. Dr. Daniel M. Hitchcock at that time was 
mate and deputy. Dr. William Rockwell (successor to Dr. 
Westervelt) served as health officer four years. During the 
first two years of office. Dr. Charles A. Vanzandt was deputy, 
and the last two Dr. Henry Van Hoevenbei'g. Dr. James Har- 
court was at that time mate of the marine hospital. Dr. A. J. 
Doane succeeded Doctor Rockwell, and held the office three 
years. Dr. Henry Van Hoevenberg, Doctor Doane' s successor, 
commenced his official duties in 1843. He appointed Dr. James 
Harcourt deputy health officer. 

During Doctor Harrison's, also Doctor Westervelt's term of 
ofiice, vessels were only boarded seven months in the year, viz., 
from April 2d to October 31st, inclusive, unless a vessel arrived 
in the interim having on board contagious or infectious diseases, 
which was seldom the case. The hospital was generally closed 
about November 1st, and remained so until April 2d. At the 
clo.sing of the hospital the inmates were sent to the New York 
Hospital, their board and medical attendance being paid for by 
the commissioners of health, from the funds of the institution. 



496 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

During the last two years of Doctor Van Hoevenberg's term of 
office, the law was changed, making it obligatory on the health 
officer to board vessels from foreign ports having passengers, all 
the year round. 

Dr. Harcourt was on the hosjDital ship " Falcon," in 1866 
with Dr.'Bissell, attending to cholera patients. Dr. Bissell was 
attacked with cholera but recovered. Doctor Swinburne was 
then health officer. 




o 
z 



z 
< 

^ I 

o 



CHAPTER XL 



OLD FAMILIES AND PROMINENT INDIVIDUALS. 



Alston. — Androvette. — Bedell. — Barnes. — Samuel Ward Benedict. — Read Bene- 
dict. — Bodine. — W. H. J. Bodine. — Blake. — Bogart. — Braisted. — Britton. — 
Biirbanck. — Burgher, Burger. — Bush. — Butler. — Cannon. — Christopher.— 
Cole. — Abraham Cole. — William A. Cole. — Colon. — Conner. — Corsen. — Cor- 
telyou. — Crips. — Crocheron. — Crviser. — Cubberly. — George William Daley. — 
George Henry Daley. — Decker. — De Groot. — De Hart. — Depuy. — Disosway. — 
DuBois. — Dustan. — Eddy. — Andrew Eddy. — Egbert. — Ellis. — Enyard. — 
Fountain. — Frost. — Garrison. — Guy on. — Hatfield. — Haughwout. — Charles A. 
Herpich. — Hillyer. — Holmes. — Housman. — Jacobson. — Johnson. — Jones. — 
Journeay. — La Forge.— Lake. — Larzalere. — Latourette. — Lawrence. — Lisk. — 
Lockman.^Manee. — James M. Manee. — Martling. — Martino. — Men-ill. — Mer- 
sereau. — Metcalfe. — Nicholas C. Miller. — Morgan. 



ALSTON. — Originally this was a Scotch faniih'. One of its 
most noted members was Charles Alston, a celebrated 
Scotch physician and author. He died in 1760. Joseph Alston, 
the son-in-law of Aaron Bnrr, and a former governor of South 
Carolina, was also of this family. The tirst of the name on Staten 
Island was David Alston, who came here from 'New Jersey, 
somewhere about the beginning of the revolution. He was com- 
missioned a captain in the British army; his company was com 
posed of provincial loyalists or tories; he owned the property 
recently belonging to the estate of Samuel Decker, deceased, in 
Northtield. The large stone house in which he lived and died 
was demolished a few years ago. He died between the 6th and 
14th of May, 1805, for these are the dates of his will and its 
probate. He speaks, in that document, of his sons Warren, 
Japhet and David. It is said that he continued to draw his 
half-pay from the British government as long as he lived. His 
son Japhet, at the time of his death, which occurred July 31, 
1842, at the Four Corners, Castleton, was the father of Moses 
Alston, Esq., late twice sheriff of the county, and of liis 
brothers David, Japhet, Adam, George and William. 

32 



498 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Androtette. — This is one of the old families of the island, 
but it was never very prominent nor very numerous; the notices 
of it therefore are few. They api)ear to have confined them- 
selves chiefly to Westfield. The name occurs nowhere in the 
civil list of the county. John is mentioned in the count}' 
records as having bought land of Tunis Egbert, January 27, 
1699, and as having sold land in 1705. Peter and Rebecca Cole 
had the following children : Daughter Rebecca, baptized March 
27, 1720; daughter Elizabeth, baptized December 25, 1723, died 
in infancy; twins Elizabeth and Anna, baptized January 1, 
1726. John and Leah Swaim had a son, John, baptized April 7, 
1729, and a daughter, Leah, baptized May 17, 1724; this John 
we find mentioned as collector of the West Division in 1767 and 
1768. Peter, and Caty, his wife, had a son Peter, born July 6, 
1765; he made his will December 21, 1792, proved Marcli 17, 
1802, in which he speaks of his wife Catharine, his daughter 
Catharine, wife of Dow Storer; daughter Elizabeth, wife of 
Peter Latourette; daughter Mary, wife of Joseph Totten; sons 
Peter, Charles and John. These three sons were married as fol- 
lows : Peter and Elizabeth Slack, January 4, 1789; Charles and 
Margaret Slack, September 11, 1797; and John and Ann Cole, 
August 21, 1802. The family is at present represented by the 
three brothers, Cornelius C, John and Benjamin; their grand- 
father was usually known as Major John, and their father as 
young Major John. 

Bedell. — We find this name at an early date in America, but 
not in connection with Staten Island. In 1678 we find Robbert 
Beedill, Daniel Beedel, Mathew Beedel, and John Beddel, 
enrolled among the inhabitants of Hempstead, Long Island. It 
is nearly a century after that date, that we find the name in 
any of the records of Richmond county. In 1767, Silas ren- 
dered a bill for " docktering," whence we infer that he was a 
physician. In the same year mention is made of John, who 
was county treasurer when he died, in the early part of 1781. 
There is a Joseph also mentioned in 1770, but not the Joseph 
alluded to elsewhere as having been taken prisoner by the 
Americans when a boy ; thev were father and son. The father 
made his will October 28, 1793, proved November 19th of the same 
year, in which he speaks of his sons Jesse and Joseph, and his 
daughters Mary, Pattie, Pegge, Catharine and Jane ; his wife's 





p-yiZ/'^/'^J-^^i^C «^i-<^ 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 499 

name was Catharine ; his son Joseph was born October 24, 
1763 ; Jesse was born in 1778, and died August 28, 18i52. 

Stephen and Catharine Latourette were married in May, 1766, 
and had a son David born July 19, 1771. 

Silas (the doctor) and Mary his wife, had the following child- 
ren : Phebe, born November 19, 1770; James, born April 9, 
1773 ; John, born March 28, 1775. James married Hetty Parker 
January 12, 1806. 

There was another John, wife Catharine, who had a daughter 
Hillite, born April 7, 1771. 

Stephen and Mary Donelly were married March 9, 1808; Israel 
died at Elizabethtown, N. J., August 30, 1830; he was the 
father of the Rev. Gregory Townsend Bedell, D.D., an eminent 
divine of the Episcopal church, who was born at Fresh kill, 
October 28, 1793, and died August 30, 1834, just four years 
after his father to a day. Rev. Dr. Bedell was the father of 
the Rev. G. Thurston Bedell. 

Gregory Townsend Bedell was born on Staten Island, in the 
harbor of New York, on the 28tli of October, 1793. His father, 
Israel Bedell, was a man of true excellence of character, of a 
peaceful temper and spirit, and much beloved by those who 
were connected with him. He lived to see fourscore years, to 
witness the full eminence and usefulness of his only son, and to 
receive many happy proofs of his filial gratitude and love. He 
died at Elizabethtown, in New Jersey, on the 30th of August, 
in the year 1830, in the comfort and confidence of a Gospel hoj^e, 
and leaving behind him a character unblemished and unre- 
proached. His mother was a sister of the Right Rev. Bishop 
Moore, of Virginia. She was remarkable both for her mental 
accomplishments and for her external beauty, adorned with a 
most amiable disposition, and kind and benevolent to the poor. 
She was early admitted as a communicant of the Protestant 
Episcopal church, and honored the doctrine of her Saviour by 
a consistent walk of faith and piety. She was married late in 
life, and lived only until her son was nine years old. 

He was the only son of his parents. His father had three 
daughters, the children of a former marriage, who were in a 
most eminent degree affectionate and useful sisters to him, and 
made, in the hands of God, the main instruments in educating 
him for the work in which his life was so usefully employed. 
They were permitted to receive from him in return the most 



500 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

unequivocal proofs of his affectionate gratitude, and two of 
them survived him to lament his departure from the earth. 

Barnes. — George Barnes and Roger Barnes, brothers, came 
from England many years before the revolution, but it is not 
certain that they came together. Roger bought land in South- 
field in February, 17G2; George, about 1770, bought land in 
Castleton, and settled upon it. This was a large tract lying at 
the southwest corner of the turnpike and Manor road. Con- 
stanz brewery and the Child's Nursei'y occupy a part of it. 
Roger's wife's name was Ann, and they had a son Robert, 
born May, 1760, and a daughter Margaret, born April 8, 1766. 
George's wife's name was Dorothy, and they had the following 
children: Elizabeth, born July 18, 1767; John, born October 11, 
1768; Roger, born January 7, 1771. They had also a son 
George. 

Roger married Sally Lake, a sister of Bornt Lake, who was 
killed (see Lake family), and after the death of Roger she mar- 
ried Richard Wood. 

John married Margaret Ferine, May 2, 1793, and they were 
the parents of Captain John W. Barnes, of Port Richmond, 
and grandparents of Barnes Brothers, of the same place. 

Samuel Ward Benedict was born at Danbury, Conn., in 
1798. He was a direct descendant of Thomas Benedict, who was 
born at Nottinghamshire, England, 1617, and came to this country 
seventeen years after the landing in Massachusetts bay. He 
soon sought the more thinly populated region of Long Island, 
then comparatively inaccessible from the main land in the 
winter. The late Hon. Erastus C. Benedict, in the complete 
genealogy of this family, thus writes of him: 

"He was charged with the power of magistrate and substan- 
tially with the power of the government; he was a pillar in the 
church; he was the arbitrator of differences, civilized and 
savage; the jaacilier of the olTended Indian chief; he was a 
leading member of the legislative body to create and to codify 
the system of the law on the island, after the conquest from 
the Dutch, and afterward of the colonial legislature." 

Samuel W. Benedict established himself in the watch and 
jewelry business in New York in 1818; first in Broadway at 
the corner of Maiden lane, and some time previous to the great 
tire in 1835 he moved his establishment to Wall street at the 
corner of William street, where the custom house now stands. 





:^^^^^:^^'^ 




RAVENHURST. 

HOUSE OF READ BENEDICT. 
West New Brighioii, N. Y. 



kM^J^X?^^ \. WVlAW^i-^^ H. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 501 

At that time the first stage or omnibus line had started from in 
front of his store and the drivers were accustomed to ask Mr. 
Benedict if it were time for them to start. 

At this early date and here it was that " Benedict's Time" 
first became a synonym for the correct time. 

In 1836 he purchased from Daniel Winant and Benjamin 
Brewster their adjoining farms, near Rossville, Staten Ishmd, 
and removed with his family to that place. 

The old family mansion stood on the Winant place, and at 
that time was one of the most substantial as well as one of the 
oldest houses on the island. It was ex'ected in the latter part 
of the seventeenth century, and was claimed by Daniel Winant 
to have been built and occupied by David Pietersen De Vries. 
The walls were built of rough stone and Dutch cement, thick 
and strong enough to withstand a siege, and no doubt in that 
day it was intended as a place of security as well as a residence. 

The old house was burned in 1858. After the inside and all 
the wood work were consumed the walls remained standing, 
apparently as firmly and securely as when they were erected 
nearly two hundred years before. 

Mr. Benedict built a new house on this same site, and con- 
tinued to live there in a quiet and unostentatious way, beloved 
and respected by all his neighbors until his death, which oc- 
curred in the spring of 1882. The farms still remain in the 
possesesion of three of his sons, Edwin P., Frederick and 
Samuel. 

Read Benedict, son of Samuel W. Benedict, although born 
in the city of New York, has been a life resident of Staten 
Island. In 1856 he married Mary E., daughter of Mark Winant, 
Esq., of Rossville, whose family were among the oldest settlers 
of the island. His father, Peter Winant, during the revolu- 
tion, although a lad at the time, owing to the strong Tory feel- 
ing prevailing, was obliged to flee to New Jei'sey, and returned 
only after peace was declared. 

Peter Winant was one of the first members from Richmond 
county to the state legislature, serving in 1788, and again in 
1790 and 1791. 

He was supervisor for the town of Westfield from 1785 to 
1787; serving many years as justice of the peace he became 
known only as "old Judge Winant." 

The beautiful residence and ample grounds of Mr. Benedict 



502 HISTORY OF BICHMOND COUNTY. 

are situated between the Manor and Jewett avenues, in the vil- 
lage of New Brighton. It is said that the house stands on the 
identical foundation of the old family residence of the Vander- 
bilts, and here it was the late commodore was born. The place 
is accessible from the avenues through a picturesque carriage- 
drive, bordered on either side by evergreens and cedars. A 
sloping lawn, with a beautiful bronze fountain, lies before the 
house, wliich stands on a terraced eminence. Mr. Benedict is 
the senior member of the well known firm of Benedict Brothers. 

He was one of the founders of Grace Methodist Ej^iscopal 
church, a growing and prosperous organization. As an influ- 
ential member of the community, he is looked upon as one of 
our leading citizens and prosperous business men. 

Of his private life, as husband and father, we are not per- 
mitted to speak ; but, judging from the outward appearance of 
his beautiful home and flourishing family, we may form very 
pleasing conclusions. 

BoDiNE. — This family is of French origin. The name is not 
mentioned by Smiles among the Huguenots. The first historical 
allusion to the name that we have met is a brief biographical 
account of John Bodin, who was a native of Angers, studied 
law and lectured at Toulouse; he wrote several works, and died 
of the plague at Laon, in 1596. The date of the immigration of 
the family to this country is not known, but it must have been 
in the latter part of the seventeenth or very early in the 
eighteenth century, for we find the name of John Bodine men- 
tioned in the county records as having purchased land in 1701, 
and he was still living in 1744, as we find his name and that of his 
wife Hester mentioned as having sold land at that date. Men- 
tion is also made in records at Albany of John Bodein, in 1707. 
It is probable that he was an emigrant, as we find him preserv- 
ing the French orthography of his name, Jean, and of his son 
who came with him, Francois, a witness to a baptism in the 
Keformed Dutch church, in April, 1720; he was therefore a 
Protestant, or Huguenot. 

Francois married Maria De}% and they had a son named 
Jean, baptized in the same church November 29, 1719. Of tliis 
second Jean, or John, we find no account except that his wife's 
name was Dorcas, and that they had several children baptized. 
They were undoubtedly the parents of John Bodine, who waiS 
born in February, 1753, and of James Bodine, born in Janu- 







'^'V- %-AEKtt<*i« 




l^ 



HISTORY OF KIOHMOND COUNTY. 503 

ary, 1759. John died in March, 1835, nearlj^ 82 years of age, 
and James in May, 1838, nearly 80 years of age. John mar- 
ried Catharine Britton, sister of the late Mr. Nathaniel Britton; 
their sons were John, usually recognized in the local history of 
the north shore ns " Squire John," Jacob (the father of W. H. 
J. and Edmund Bodine. constituting the present firm of Bodine 
Brothers, the late Captain John, James, Jacob and Albert, and 
three daughters), and Vincent, who removed from the island. 
James was the father of the late Mr. Abraham Bodine, of 
Mariners' Harbor, and of several sons and daughters now dead. 

"Squire John" owned considerable property on the north 
shore, among which was the mill and the pond and the land 
east of it, including the old Dongan manor house, which he 
subsequently sold to his father, who died in that house in 1835. 

William H. J. Bodinp:. — The Bodine family is of Huguenot 
descent. Its first representatives in this country were three 
brothers, who came to America shortly after the massacre of St. 
Bartholemew. A branch of the family found their way to 
Staten Island, and of this branch William H. Bodine is a de- 
scendant. He was the third of nine children of Jacob Bo- 
dine and Johannali Houseman, of Northfield. His father was 
formerly a prominent business man in Richmond county, and 
from him he inherited many of the substantial qualities which 
have been instrumental in makng him one of Staten Island's 
most successful business men. 

Mr. Bodine was born at Castleton, February 4, 1821. He was 
educated by private tutors and in the district school, after 
which, in his thirteenth year, he became engaged in the business 
with his father, and in which he remained till the age of twenty. 
At that time he entered into mercantile life on his own account, 
in which he still remains. He carries on a general business in 
building materials and fuel. By care in the management of his 
affairs and the practice of thorough integrity in all his dealings 
he has won for himself not only a competency, but also the re- 
spect and esteem of the entire community. 

Mr. Bodine is the possessor of valuable real estate in West 
Brighton. He is also a stockholder and director in the Rich- 
mond County Gas Company. Since his youth he has taken a 
prominent part in politics, and his services in the republican 
party entitle him to recognition as one of its foremost men on 
Staten Island. For six years he was president of the village of 



504 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

West Brighton, of whicli, together with Francis G. Shaw, Au- 
gustus Prentice and James Simonton, under the name of trus- 
tees, he was one of the incorporators. His long connection with 
the life and prosperity of Richmond county, together with the 
prominent part which lie has always taken in its every aggres- 
sive movement, have won for him a lasting place in its history. 

Blake.- — This family is of English origin; the date of their 
arrival or settlement on the island is not known, though it was 
probably about or just anterior to the middle of the last cen- 
tury; like most of the other families of tlie same nationality, 
they were decided royalists during the revolution. The first 
name of the family we find on the records is that of William, 
who married Maiy Woglom, and had the following children: 
John, born September 28, 1763, died September 30, 1852; Wil- 
liam, born April 21, 1766, died January 16, 1852; and Edward, 
born 1773, died December 14, 1845. 

John married Tabitha Merrill, and died childless; William 
married Ann Corsen, and had the following children: Daniel, 
(deceased), William (di'owned), Richard C. (still living in 
Illinois), Edward and George. Edward was the father of Mrs. 
Margaret Minott, of West New Brighton. 

John, usually known as Captain John W. Blake, owned and 
occupied the now valuable property corner of Mill and Manor 
roads. West New Brighton, extending westward on both sides 
of Cherry lane, and embracing the site of the dye worlis of 
Barrett, Nephews & Co. 

William owned and occupied the property on the Little Clove 
road, subsequently owned by D. Porter Lord. Daniel, son of 
William, deceased, was the father of Daniel, captain of the 
police force of the county. 

BoGAKT. — This family is of Dutch extraction. The name 
was originally written Bogaert. The earliest mention of the 
name in the province occurs in an assessment roll of Breucklen 
(Brooklyn), dated 1673, where Theunes Gisbertse Bogaert is 
named, having the largest assessment on the roll. We find 
him again assessed in 1683. In 1715 we find the name of Simon 
enrolled among the militia of Kings county. Our theory is 
that this Simon had a brother Tunis, and that they were sons 
of Gysbert, for, in the assessment mentioned above, he is rated 
for three polls (himself and two sons); that these sons married 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 505 

Simon Bof^aert and Margarietje Ten Eyck had the following 
children: Elisabet, baptized October 18, 1719; Margareta, bap- 
tized December 3, 1722; Simon, baptized May 19, 1726; Gysbert, 
baptized January 19, 1729; Sarah, baptized February 13, 1732, 
and perhaps others. 

Tunis and Catharine Hageman had the following children: 
Isaak, baptized November 21, 1718; Adrian, baptized Decem- 
ber 18, 1720; Abraham, baptized April 21, 1723; Maria, baptized 
March 28, 172.'5; Cornelius, baptized March 2, 1729, and per- 
haps others. 

Simon (probably son of Simon) and Martha, his wife, had the 
following children: Mary, born December 4, 1746; Simon, born 
June 19, 1754; Richard, born February 22, 1757. 

Isaac and Rachel had a son John, born October 14, 1770; also 
a son Simon, who was the father of Timothy C. Bogart, near 
the Four Corners. 

Braisted. — Though this name has been identihed with the 
county for a century and a half, the earliest notice of it in 
the old church records, is that of William and Christina Bouw- 
man his wife, who liad a son Johannes, baptized in 1715, and a 
son Andries, August 18, 1719. In the county records we meet 
with him as having purchased land in 1730. Johannes, or John, 
son of William, married Trintje Haughwout, and had a son 
Jan, or John, baptized August 18, 1741, and a son Peter, bap- 
tized August 15, 1743. We then lose trace of the family for thirty 
years ; then it appears again in the name of Egbert and Rachel 
his wife, who had a son Egbert, born May 6, 1773. The next 
and only remaining notice we have of the family in the last 
century is the marriage of John and Nautchie (Anna) Mart- 
ling, daughter of John Martling, February 14, 1790. The 
family is now represented by Capt. J. Braisted, of Edgewater, 
and a family or two at Watchogue. 

Bkitton.— This family is of French descent, and their name 
was originally written Breton, another example of the change 
of French names into English. The earliest mention of the 
name in connection with the island, is that of Captain, some- 
times called Colonel Nicklos, who was born in 1679, and died 
January 12, 1740. 

The following is a coi)y of the inscription upon the tomb- 
stones of Colonel Nicklos Britten and his wife . 



506 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

on Long Island, the one a Ten Ej'ck, the other a Hageman, and 
then purchased land and removed here. 

" Here lies ye Body of Col. Nicklos Britten, aged 61 years, 
Deceased Jan. 12, 1740. 

Here lies a man of tender hart 
Unto the poor in every part 
He never sent the poor away 
Which well is nown unto this Day." 

" Here Lyes ye Body of Frances, wife of Col. Nicholas Brit- 
ton, aged 66 years, Deceased May ye 7, 1748. 

This Woman who is buried here 
This county has nown for many a year 
A loving mistress, a faithful wife 
A Tender mother all her Life." 

These stones are still standing in the Moravian cemetery. 

William was defendant in a suit at law October 3, 1680. 
Nathaniel was plaintiff in a suit in July, 1681, and again in a 
suit with Lewes Lakerman in the same year. These two last 
named were adults when "Col. Nicklos" was an infant, but the 
consanguinity between them cannot now be ascertained. There 
was another William, a son of Nicholas, probably Col. Nick- 
los, born October 11, 1708. There was a Joseph, perhaps 
a brother of William, who had a son James, baptized April 23, 
1707, and a daughter, in 1708. There was also a Richard, who 
purchased land in 1694. 

Nathaniel made his will in 1683, but he was still living in 
1695; he was probably the same individual who was a party to 
the law- suit alluded to above. Nathaniel and Esther Belleville 
had a daughter, bai:)tized Aj^ml 9, 1732. Nathaniel and Mary 
his wife, had the following children : Joseph, born November 
15, 1760 ; Eichard, born March 22, 1766 ; William, born Sep- 
tember 19, 1768. Samuel and Mary had the following daugh- 
ters : Addra, born July 7, 1771; and Mary, born July 31, 1773. 
Nathaniel and Catharine had a daughter Mary, born April 4, 
1775; at her baptism, the father was also baptized. Samuel 
and Polly Latourette married May 24, 1797. 

The present representative of one branch of the family is J. 
A. H. Britton, Esq., of New Dorp; his father was Nathaniel, 
whose place of interment is marked by the marble monument 
at the southwest corner of the Church of the Ascension. Na- 
thaniel was born in 1764 or 1765; he was twice married; his first 
wife was a Van Buskirk, of Bergen, and they were the jjarents 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 507 

of Debora, wife of Joshua Mersereau, born August 4, 1782, died 
March 26, 1840; Cornelius, born July 1, 1785, died April 3, 1867; 
he resided at Fresh kill for many years before his death. 

Abraham, born August 20, 1787, died August 26, 1866, resided 
on the Clove road in Castleton, and was the father of Henry 
and Abraham, both deceased, who resided on the paternal pi'o- 
perty. iN'athaniel, Jr., born in 1792, died February IB, 1841, 
owned and resided on the property on the east side of Broad- 
way, West New Brighton, extending the whole length of that 
highway. He had also another son, John. Nathaniel's second 
wife was Margaret Bedell, who was born January 5, 1768, and 
died September 21, 1849; she was the mother of J. A. H. Britton, 
Esq., as before mentioned. 

BuRBANCK. — Abraham, John and Peter Burbanck, and two 
sisters, names unknown, came from the Netherlands, Holland, 
in the ship "Caledonia;" the vessel was partly wrecked on the 
passage and the sisters were lost. The brothers landed in New 
York in the seventeenth century, and Abraham settled on Staten 
Island. John went to New England, and was made freeman in 
Rowley, Mass., May 13, 1640. In his will of April 5, 1681, he 
mentioned his wife Jimima, and his children John, Caleb and 
Lydia. Peter went to Old England and was never heard from. 
They were of French and German stock; Abraham married a 
French lady, name and date of marriage unknown. 

Abraham, son of Abraham the first, was born November 20, 
1745, died May 12, 1823, married and had children as follows: 
Jacob, born April 9, 1771, died September 14, 1854; Abraham, 
born 1780, died 1838. The dates of births and deaths of Isaac, 
John, Peter, Rebecca and Mary Ann are unknown. 

Descendants of Jacob Burbanck, son of Abraham the second: 
Jacob Burbanck was twice married; he married Ann Wandel 
who was born July 7, 1772, and was married by Mr. Eaton at 
New Windsor July 14, 1793. He married Lucy Hennell in 1830. 
She died November 16, 1865. No children by the second mar- 
riage. Had children l)y the first wife as follows: Ann, born 
May 3, 1794, died November 29, 1854; Abraham, born August 
13, 1797, died August 26, 1797; Jacob Lockman, born June 22, 
1799, died April 6, 1885; John William, born April 4, 1806; 
Aletta Eliza, born December 6, 1809. 

Ann, daughter of Jacob and Ann Burbanck, married Abra- 
ham Egbert, born April 26, 1791, and was married by Rev. John 



608 IIISTOUY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

C. Beekler, December 23, 1815; had children as follows: Jacob 
Burbanck Miles, boru December 8, 1816, died August 14, 1879; 
Ann Eliza, born April 12, 1818; Margaret Jane, born Januarj- 
25, 1820, died March 21, 1873; Abraham Edward, born October 
12, 1821; Stephen Henry, born December 8, 1823, died February 
11, 1865; Rebecca Maria, born March 30, 1826; Catherine Han- 
nah, born January 29, 1828; James, born September 4, 1830. 

Jacob Burbanck Miles Egbert, first son of Abraham and Ann 
Egbert, was twice married; his first wife was Maria Simonson, 
his second wife Catherine Simonson, sisters, both of Clifton, 
Staten Island. The first wife had children as follows: Mary 
Elizabeth, born November 4, -1845; James and Lavina, dates of 
birth not known; they reside at Clifton. By the second wife, 
he had sons Cornelius and Chester. 

Mary Elizabeth Egbert married James J. Garretson October 
1, 1808, and has children as follows: Mary Elizabeth, born Au- 
gust 8, 1869, George Jacob, born March 8, 1871; Margaret Cor- 
sen, born January 28, 1873; Alice May, born November 10, 
1874; Irene, born February 4, 1877; Ella, born September 12, 
1878; Sarah Louise, born October 10, 1880; Arthur, born Sep- 
tember 13, 1882; Susie Bird, born March 27, 1884; Jessie, born 
March 27, 1884; Henry, born June 14, 1885. 

James Egbert, son of Jacob Burbanck Miles Egbert, married 
Sarah , has children and resides at Clifton, Staten Island. 

Lavina Egbert, second daughter of Jacob Burbanck Miles 
Egbert, married William Rase and has children. 

Ann Eli?.a Egbert, first daughter of Abraham and Ann Egbert, 
married Nathan Britton, have children: Anna and John. 

Margaret Jane, second daughter of Abraham and Ann Eg- 
bert, married Nathaniel Swaim, had children: a son George and 
a daughter who died in infancy. 

Abraham Edward, second son of Abraham and Ann Egbert, 
married Mary Jane Burgher. They have one daughter Mari- 

anna, who married Franklin, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and 

they have one daughter named Mabel. Abraham Edward re- 
sides at Stapleton, Staten Island. 

Rebecca Maria, third daughter of Abraham and Ann Eg 
bert, married John Barnes. No children. 

James, fourth son of Abraham and Ann Egbert, married 
Amelia Laforge. Has children as follows: Pauline, Alice, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 509 

Herbert, (Elizabeth and Percy died). James Egbert resides at 
Tompkinsville. 

Abiaham Borbanck, the third son of Abraham Burbanck, 
second, married Catherine Houghwout, and liad children as fol- 
lows: Margaret, born 1806; married Nicholas Youngman; 
Catherine, born 1808; Charlotte, born 1820 (by second wife), 

married Mink of Albany, N. Y. ; Richard C, born 1822, 

married Catherine M. Douglas, and had children as follows: 
Margaret, Louisa, Emma, Sarah and Catherine; George, married 
Catherine Relyea, and resides in Albany, N. Y. ; Joseph; Ann, 
married George Holt, of Chicago, Illinois. 

Isaac Burbanck, son of Abraham second, married Sarah Eg- 
bert, and had children as follows: Mary Ann, married Vincent 
Bodine, and had two sons, Jacob and Vincent. Her husband 
died. She then married Stephen Martling, and had two 
daughters. She died and her second husband married her 
sister Sarah Jane, and she had children, Elizabeth and Mary 
Ann. Isaac Bui-banck had three children: Mary Ann, Sarah 
Jane and Edward. 

Edward, son of Isaac and Sarah Burbanck, married and has 
a son Edward married and living at New Dorp. 

Elizabeth Martling, first daughter of Stephen and Sarah Jane 
Martling, married James Vreeland of New Dorp; has childi'en 
and resides at New Dorp. 

Mary Ann Martling, second daughter of Stephen and Sarah 
Jane Martling, married Bogart. 

John Burbanck, son of Abraham the second, married, and 
had children as follows: Ann, Mary, Daniel, Henry, John and 
Catherine. 

John and Peter Burbanck, sons of Abraham second, reside 
at New Brighton. 

Rebecca Burbanck, first daughter of Abraham second, mar- 
ried Austin Barton, had children : Saraii, and one, name not 

known. Sarah married Conklin, living at Patchogue, 

Long Island, and has one daughter. 

Mary Ann Burbanck, second daughter of Abraham second, 
married John Deeker. 

Jacob Lockman Burbanck, second son of Jacob and Ann, 
married Martha Washington Graham, August 4, 1830. Born 
June 1, 1799; died December 5, 1879. Was married by Rev. 
John Ernest Miller, and had children as follows: Elizabeth 



510 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Anderson, born July 29, 1831; George Ed^ar, born June 27, 
1833, died December 30, 1834; Margaret Ann, born January 
31, 1836; Frances Louise, born July 19, 1838, died July 4, 1880; 
William Dudley, born September 14, 1841, was married May 
17, 1870, to Susan Jane Wood, of Pleasant Plains, who was 
born October 18, 1840, and has children as follows: Jacobson 
Lockman, born May 10, 1871; William Dudley, born May 1, 1874; 
George Graham, born August 1, 1877; Mary Eleanor Wood, 
born June 18, 1880; David Morris Ware, born April 19, 1883, 
died January 24, 1884. 

John William Burbanck, third son of Jacob and Ann, was 
twice married; his first wife was Gertrude Egbert, and his sec- 
ond wife Ann Egbert, sisters. Ann died December 19, 1878; had 
children as follows: By first wife, Hiram A., Ferdinand and 
and Mar}' Adelaide; by second wife, Evelina, Anna and John 
Alfred. John William resides at Castleton Corners, and is the 
oldest living descendant of Jacob Burbanck the first. 

Hiram A. Burbanck, son of John William and Gertrude, 

married Mary , and had one son, John William, and a 

daughter, who died. Hiram resides with his father at Castle- 
ton Corners. 

Evelina Burbanck, daughter of John William and Ann, mar- 
ried William Alston, and has one son, Theodore. 

Anna Burbanck, daughter of John William and Ann, mar- 
ried Sylvester Cobb, and has children Mabel and Edward. 

John Alfred Burbanck, son of John William and Ann, died 
March 28, 1873. 

Aletta Eliza Burbanck, second daughter of Jacob first and 
Ann, married Samuel Wood, and has children as follows: Cath- 
arine Ann, Ellen, Jane Louisa, Benjamin, Jacob, Augustus B., 
and Beekman. 

Samuel Wood died, and his Avidow resides at City Island, 
Westchester county. New York. 

Catharine Ann Wood, daughter of Samuel and Aletta E. 
Wood, married Joseph Brown, and has children and grand- 
children, resides at Astoria, N. Y. 

Ellen Wood, daughter of Samuel and Aletta Eliza Wood, 
married Benjamin Van Clief, had one son Charles, now living 
at West New Brighton, married and has children. His parents 
are dead. 

Benjamin Wood, son of Samuel and Aletla Eliza Wood, mar- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 511 

ried and has children and grandchildren residing at Astoria, 
N. Y. 

Augustus B. Wood, son of Samuel and Aletta Eliza Wood, 
married and has children and grandchildren, residing at City- 
Island, AVestchester county, N. Y. 

Samuel Buibanck, Jacob Lockman Bnrbanck's cousin, resides 
at South Beach, and his son, Samuel Burbanck, resides at New 
Dorp. 

Burgher, Burger. — These, at the present day, are two dis- 
tinct families, who write their names as above. 

Johannes Burger, from Cliesman, came over in the ship 
'■Stettin," September, 1662; but where he settled is not known. 
There was an Elias Bni'ger and Susanna Whitman, his wife, 
who had a son Nathan, baptized February 23, 1724, and this is 
the first record of the name in the county. 

Colonel Nicholas Burgher was born January 23, 1768, and 
died May 23, 1839; he was the father of Matthias, John, James 
G., David and several other children. John was the father of 
David Burgher, of Edgewater, the present representative of the 
family spelling their name with an li. 

The other family, who eschew the li, and adhere to the origi- 
nal orthography, are of comparatively recent connection with 
the island. 

David D. Burger was born in South Carolina in 1777, and 
sectled on Staten Island in 1814, where he died in February, 
1831. He left several sons, of whom Nicholas, of Four Cornel's, 
and Samuel, of Bull's Head, survive. 

Bush. — This name, written BoscJi in the Dutch records, is 
found here early in the last centur3^ This family was never 
very numerous nor prominent, consequently the notices of its 
members are very few. 

Joshua, or Josiah, had a son Samuel, bajitized 1706; Nicholas 
and Elizabeth Driidvwater had the following children: Edward, 
baptized November 24, 1728; Barent, baptized September, 1734; 
Nicholas, baptized July 13, 1740. Garret had a daughter Mary, 
baptized September 30, 1787, and a daughter Elizabeth, baptized 
August 30, 1789. Joseph and Mary Johnson were married De- 
cember 10, 1792. Lambert and Mary Stillwell were married 
January 27, 1795. The family name, though not as old as some 
others on the island, was in tlie province at an early date. 
Among the emigrants who came over in the ship "Fox" in 



512 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

August, 1662, we find the name of Jan Bossch from West- 
phalen. 

There was another family of this name descended from John 
Bush, an Englishman, who fought at Banker Hill on the side 
of the Americans, and subsequently took up his residence on 
Staten Island, where he married, and had at least one son, 
whose name was Williaiu, who was tlie father of the late Mr. 
John Bnsh, of Watchogne, Northtield, and of Mrs. S. D. Ken- 
nison, of West New Brighton. 

Butler. — This was another of the royalist families which 
was here before and during the revolution. The earliest men- 
tion of the name in the church records is in 1732, when James 
and Sarah Carem had a son John, baptized March 26. In St. 
Andrew's records we find the following: Henry and Balaesha 
(Baletta) had a son James, born May 8, 1759 ; and a son Na- 
thaniel, born March 23, 1768. Thomas and Mary had a son 
James, born October 19, 1758, and a son Antony, born Novem- 
ber 17, 1769. John and Rachel had a son Daniel, born October 
29, 1758. John and Mary had a son Henry, baptized March 11, 
1776. Thomas and Susan had a daughter Maria, baptized May 
13, 1790. Thomas and Mary Herod married December 20, 1789. 
Daniel and Elizabeth Pray married December 29, 1807. 

The family is at present in part represented by Mr. Talbot 
Butler, of Port Richmond, whose father was Thomas, and 
mother Eleanor Crocheron, daughter of Abraham. Thomas had 
several brothers — James, John, Elias and Henry, and they were 

the sons of John and Kingston his wife. Thomas was 

twice married, his second wife beinga widow Blake, maiden name 
Wood. 

Cannon. — On Staten Island the name is usually accented on 
the last syllable. The family was here as early as 1680, but it 
was never very numerous or prominent ; its members appear to 
have been of a retiring nature, and are never found mentioned 
in any official character, except in one instance where one of 
them held a minor military office. Andreas ^Andrew) was 
plaintiff in a suit in 1680, and was probably the progenitor. 
We find no further mention of them until John and Maria Egbert 
had a son Abraham, baptized Maj- 7, 1741 ; a daughter, April 
22, 1746, and a son Jacobus, July 19, 1748. 

David and Aeltje (Alida) Prall had tlie following children ; 
A daughter, baptized May 2, 1753 ; a son, Arent, baptized No- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 513 

vember 2, 1754 ; a son, David, January 29, 1758, and a son, An- 
dries, Angust 26, 1759. 

David is also mentioned in 1755 as owner of a slave. 

Andrew and Mary Wright were married in December, 1795. 

Christopher. — The original of this name is Christoffel, which 
is the Dutch for Christopher. The earliest mention of the family 
occurs in a church record, as follows : Barent and Anna Cath- 
arina Stilwell had the following children baptized : Nicklaas, 
August 4, 1703 ; Catharyna, April 23, 1706, died young ; Re- 

becka, April 20, 17 — ; Maria, , 1710; Susanna, January 

11, 1719; they had twin children, Catharinaand Barent, baptized 
August 13, 1716. 

This Barent is mentioned in the county records as having sold 
land in 1704. Stoffel also sold land the same year. Catharine 
Christopher, widow of Albert Rykman, had a posthumous 
child, Albert, baptized October 26, 1729. 

Hans (John) and Jane Arrowsmith had the following child- 
ren baptized : Johannes, April 16, 1732 ; Barnt, April 14, 1734; 
Joseph, August 8, 1736 ; Richard, September 30, 1739. Nicolas 
and Christina Bowman had a son, Barnt, baptized November 27, 
1726, and a daughter, September 26, 1731. 

Richard (above) and Esther his wife, had the following child- 
ren : John Garrison, born September 18, 1770 ; James Grover, 
born August 30, 1772; Joseph, born May 9, 1775. Joseph, son 
of John, had a son, Joseph, who was father of Capt. Richard 
Christopher, of West New Brighton. 

Cole. — We have nowliere found the slightest allusion to the 
origin of this family, but an individual of the same name was 
on the island before the beginning of the last century ; in the 
county records we find the name of Abraham Cole as having 
sold land in 1695, which, of course, he must have purchased at 
an earlier date. In the church records we find no further men- 
tion of the name for more than half a century, though the name 
of Abraham appears to have been perpetuated. 

Abraham and Hannah had a daughter Ann, born May 11, 
1762 ; a son Abraham, born March 6, 1766, and a son John Be- 
dell, born July 31, 1770. Peter and Susannah Latourette had 
a son Henry, born February 6, 1765. Richard lived in the 
county in 1766, and Cornelius in 1772. Cornelius and Ann 
Dyelland were married in May, 1766. Stephen and Ann had a 
daughter Ann, born July 22, 1768; a son Stephen, born Septem- 
33 



514 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

ber 11, 1771; a son John, February 5, 1775, and a daughter Mar- 
garet, who married Samuel Holmes. Stephen, the son, married 
Jane Mersereau, October 16, 1796, and John, the son, married 
Mary Winant, April 1, 1797. Isaac and Esther, his wife, had a 
son Edward, born April 8, 1770. Richard and Mary Sprang 
were married in October, 1774, and had a son Abraham, born 
March 6, 1775. John and Catharine, his wife, had a son Abra- 
ham, born April 6, 1775. Cornelius and Frances Cole were mar- 
ried November 11, 1797. John and Eliza Drake were married 
December 24, 1801. William, the pioneer of Methodism on 
Staten Island, was born in 1769, and died in 1843. Abraham, 

born , 1751, died February 19, 1798. 

Abea.h.\m Cole. — Isaac Cole, the great-grandfather of the 
subject of this biography, and one of the earliest residents of 
Staten Island, was an extensive farmer and land owner at 
Prince's bay. Among his children was a son, Abraham, who 
Inherited a portion of the ancestral estate, and followed farm- 
ing pursuits. He married Abagail Johnson, and had children : 
William, Ann, Isaac, Lydia, Abraham. Esther and Phoebe. 
Abraham, of this number, was born in 1778, and died in 1833. 
By occupation a sea-captain, his voyages were chiefly to south- 
<>rn ports, where for manj^ years he engaged in trade. He mar- 
ried Ann, daughter of David Johnson, of Staten Island. Their 
•children were : Johnson, Isaac, Abraham, Susan Ann, Harriet, 
Mary, Jacob W. and Abagail. Of these Abraham was born 
September 23, 1810, on the homestead adjacent to the old 
church at Woodrow, Staten Island. After enjoying such ad- 
vantages as the schools of the neighborhood afforded he became 
interested in his father's pursuit, and at the age of twenty-one 
took command of a packet-schooner sailing for southern ports. 
He gradually acquired by thrift a considerable interest in the 
vessels he commanded, and continued thus employed until 
1856, when, retiring from the perilous life of a mariner, he es- 
tablished near Tottenville, Staten Island, the coal and lumlier 
business, now successfully conducted bj^ his sons. Here he was 
actively engaged during the remainder of his life, his sons 
being admitted to a partnership, and later assuming entire 
charge of the increasing trade. Mr. Cole was, on the 30th of 
September, 1840, married to Ann M., daughter of Cornelius 
Disosway, of Staten Island. Their children are : Cornelius, 
married to Harriet K., daughter of James C. Robinson; Jacob 





V«.M\\XSt^ t. '6\\.»^\k^'\^ V. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 515 

W., married to Mary C. (deceased), daughter of George H. 
Pendexter; Susan A., wife of Paul M. Van Name ; James T., 
married to Elmira De Hart, and Abram, married to Blanche, 
daughter of Captain Abei Martin. Mr. Cule, in his political 
sentiments, was an old line whig, and later joined the ranks of 
the republican part}\ Politics were little to his taste, and as a 
consequence he rarely gave an active support to his party, and 
never aspired to the offices within its gift. His energies found 
a more congenial field of labor in the Bethel Methodist Epis- 
copal church, of which he was treasurer, trustee and steward. 
The following tribute to his memory, from a leading jjeriodical, 
may with propriety be quoted. 

"His religious life was uniform, and was not, as is too often 
the case, marred with frequent relapses. He professed no extra- 
ordinary attainments in piety, but all who knew him took 
knowledge of him that he had been with Jesus. He was faith- 
ful and systematic in his home duties, and regular in his attend- 
ance at the church and the means of grace when able to go. 
He was ready with his means to contribute his share toward 
the support of the church. As a husband and father he was 
considerate and kind. He was even in temper, a lover of peace, 
and a promoter of harmony. His confidence in the promises of 
God never failed." 

The death of Mr. Cole occurred September 14, 1876. 

William A. Cole. — The direct ancestor of William A. Cole 
was Col. William Cole, colonial secretary of Virginia, who em- 
igrated from London about the year 16.50, and whose descend- 
ants settled early in 1700 in Maryland, from whence they later 
removed to Staten Island. In the direct line from this progen- 
itor of the family was Abraham Cole, born in 1736, grandfather 
of the subject of this sketch. Among his children was John 
B. CoIp, born in 1770, who was twice married. His two sons 
by the first marriage, Henry and George Cole, each represented 
their district for two terms in the state legislature and were act- 
ive in promoting the interests of Richmond county. 

His second wife was Mary A. Cole, a descendant of the Cool 
family, who emigrated from England to Holland, and abmit 
the year 1680 came to America. Her father. Rev. William Cole, 
was well known as the pioneer of Methodism on Staten Island. 
His memory is still fresh, his influence still apparent, and his 
name cherished by the church to which his life-work was ded- 



516 HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

icated. William A., the only son of John B. and Mary A. Cole, 
was born October 15, 1836, at New Dorj), Staten Island, and re- 
ceived an academic education at Pennington Seminary, New 
Jersey. Deciding upon a business career, he came to New 
York in 1855 and accepted a position as cashier with a mercan- 
tile house. This thorough experience was of inestimable value 
in the busy commercial life which subsequently opened to him. 

In 1862 he organized, and has since been the active member 
of, the house of W. J. Wilcox & Company, extensively engaged 
in foreign exports. The tirni have been since their organization 
large exporters of manufactured products, and early gave their 
attention to the production of a superior quality of lard, uni- 
form in color and sweetness and capable of withstanding cli- 
matic influences. To the well directed and untiring energy of 
Mr. Cole must be attributed the gratifying success which has 
attended their efforts. For bis zeal in furthering the interests 
of Franco-American commerce the French government, in 1879, 
conferred upon him the decoration of the Legion of Honor. In 
1875 the firm of W. J. Wilcox & Company became a corpora- 
tion, with Mr. Cole as president, which office he still fills. He 
has for some years been a leading factor in commercial circles, 
having during the years 1877-78 filled the office of president of 
the New York Produce Exchange. He is at present one of the 
trustees of the Bowery Savings Bank and the Corn Exchange 
Bank of New York. His interest in the cause of education 
prompted his acceptance of the position of commissioner of the 
board of education of New York. He is chairman of its build- 
ing committee, as also of that of the New York College. Mr. 
Cole was married June 12, 1860, to Mary E. Hiscox, and has 
three children living: Mary A., Frederick A. and Helen. 

Colon. — James Colon, George Colon and John (elsewhere 
written Jonas) Colon, were naturalized in May, 1770. These were 
probably the progenitors of the family of that name, which 
once were numerous, but now nearly extinct. There was also 
a Peter Colon in the county in 1774. 

Conner.— Richard Conner came to Staten Island from Ire- 
land about 1760, as he purchased his landed estate at that 
time. He was a man of respectable acquirements, and superior 
business qualifications. His worth appears to have been soon 
discovered, for he was almost immediately placed in responsible 
offices, and continued to serve the public in various capacities 




■ji£}iia- 




HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. SIT 

until the time of his death. He was born in 1723, and died Feb- 
ruary 1, 1792. His wife Catherine died June 24, 1787, at the 
age of 62. He made his will February 4, 1790, jiroved February 
6, 1792, in which he speaks of his daughter Ann, deceased, and 
of Catharine and Elizabeth, and liis son Richard. One of his 
daughters married into the Garrison family, and was the 
mother of Mr. John C. Garrison, of Garrison's Station, S. I. R. R. 
His only son Richard, universally known as Colonel Conner, 
was for many years a prominent surveyor in the county, and 
held various offices of trust. He was born in 1763, and died 
April 5, 1853, leaving several sons, of whom Mr. A. V. Conner, 
once clerk of the county, is one. The family were always 
attached to the Moravian church. There was another family 
of the same name in the county in 1761, as appears by a record 
of a baptism of Adam, son of Jeremiah and Ann, in October 
of that yea,r, but they were of a distinct family. 

CoRSEN.— This is one of the oldest and at one time among the 
most influential families on the island. In this instance, as in 
most of the other old families, we have been able to obtain 
only shreds of its history, none of those now bearing the name 
being in possession of a genealogical descent. From 1650 to 
1690 we find the names of Hendrick, Peter, Jan, Philip, etc. , as 
residents of New York, or some parts of Long Island. The 
first mention of the name in connection with Staten Island 
occurs December 30, 1680, in a patent bearing that date, con- 
veying to Cornelius Corsen, Andries Juriansen, Derrick Cor- 
nelison and John Peterson 180 acres of land, 60 acres of which 
belonged to Corsen, and 40 acres to each of the others. This 
land is referred to in the patent of Governor Dongan to Palmer, 
and mentioned as land belonging to Cornelius Corsen and com- 
pany. Another patent to the same parties, of the same date, 
conveyed 320 acres of land lying westward of and bounded by 
the Mill creek, besides 32 acres of salt meadow "where most 
convenient." This Cornelius is designated as captain in a 
record in Albany, dated December 21, 1680. We find him men- 
tioned again in the county records as being plaintifl' in a suit in 
January, 1681. He died December 7, 1693, as his will was proved 
on that day. He had at least three sons; Christian, second 
judge and lieutenant-colonel in 1738, Cornelius, a justice, and 
Jacob, who made his will October 8, 1742, by which he makes 
the following bequests : his homestead to his son Jacob, £70 



581 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTF. 

(SI 75) to his daughter Suster, wife of Johannes Simonson; £70 
to his daughter Mary, wife of Joshua Mersereau; £70 to his son 
Douwe; £70 to his son Benjamin; £70 to his daughter Rebecca, 
wife of John Blom; to his sons Douwe and Benjamin all his 
lands in Hunterdon county, N. J.; to his daughter Suster all 
his lands on the west side of Staten Island; to his son Jacob 
his silver-hilted sword and silk sash, and all his other goods to 
his children equally. Daniel Corsen, who was county clerk in 
1739, was probably another son of Captain Cornelius. 

In the church yaid of the Reformed church at Port Richmond 
there are still to be seen two headstones with the following in- 
scriptions in the Dutch (Holland) language : 
Hier onder rust het lyk. van 
Cornelius Corsen, Esq., 
overleden den 36 Maart — 
A. D. MDCCLV on— 
— ynde LIII. 

Here under rests the body of 

Cornelius Corsen, Esq., 

■n-ho died the 26 March, 1755, 

in his 53d 



Hier legt het Lighaam van 

Jannetia Van Boskerk, 

Huys Trouw van Cornelius 

Corsen 

Overleeden den 

JIDCCXLIX 

Zyiide L Jaar 

Here lies the body of 
Jane Van Buskirk, 

wife of Cornelius Corsen 

died the , 1749, in her 50th year. 

This good old lady was probably a nati\^e of Bergen, N. J., 
where there were several families of the Van Buskirks, there 
being none of that name on the island at that date. 

Cornelius and Jannetje Van Buskirk had the following child- 
ren : a daughter, baptized November 24, 1723 ; Peter, baptized 
August 13, 1725 ; Christian, baptized February 26, 1727 ; Cor- 
nells, baptized February 23, 1729, died an infant; Cornells, 
baptized February 21, 1731 ; Jacobus (Jacob), baptized Oc- 
tober 22, 1732 ; Daniel, baptized March 9, 1735, died May 22, 
1801; a daughter, baptized September 19, 1736; and a daughter, 
baptized September 23, 1738. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 519 

We append the following, collected chiefly from church 
records : Cornelins. son of Benjamin, baptized May 4, 1714 ; 
Daniel, born 1714, died January 26, 1761; Captain Jacob, born 
1707, died 1772; Benjamin and Blaudina Vile (Viele) had a son 
Benjamin, baptized August 3, 1718; Jacob and Cornelia Cruser 
had the following children : Jacob, baptized October 13, 1747, 
and three daughters, between 1739 and 1754; Douwe (son of 
Jacob) and Jannetje Cosin, had a child baptized October 5, 
1755; Daniel and Maria Stilwell had sons Richard and Daniel, 
both baptized November 7, 1753 ; Cornelius, Jr., had son Cor- 
nelius, baptized September 2, 1787, and a daughter Jannetje 
(Jane), baptized October 17, 1790; Richard had a daughter 
Catharine, baptized August 30, 1789; Daniel and Elizabeth Bo- 
gart had a son Cornelius, baptized September 17, 1758, and a 
son William Howe, born November 24, 1776. 

Daniel and Elizabeth Bogart his wife, had also three other 
sons, John, Daniel and Richard ; Richard married Elizabeth 
Egbert, and they were the parents of Mr. Abraham E. Corsen, 
of Mariners' Harbor. Daniel built the stone house still stand- 
ing near the Richmond turnpike, and since the property of A. 
C. Bradley, Esq.; subsequently he owned a farm on the Clove 
road, now or recently the property of Haynes Lord, Esq., where 
he died, and the place came into the possession of his son 
Richard. William Howe Corsen lived to have a family of his 
own ; a short time previous to the war of 1812, he was mur- 
dered, and his body concealed under a bridge on the public road. 
Evidently he had been robbed. The perpetrators of the crime 
were never detected. 

Jacob had a daughter, baptized March 25, 1701, a son Jacob, 
baptized October 21, 17o7 (see Captain Jacob, above) and a son 

Benjamin, baptized April 1, 1710. Corsen and Elsey Ayro 

were married November, 1801; Hiram J., of New Springville, is 
the son of Cornelius V. B. ; he was the son of Richard ; and 
he was the son of Cornelius. 

CoETELYOu. — This name, in some of the old records, is writ- 
ten Corteleau ; it is of French origin, but was changed through 
a long residence in Holland, previous to emigration to America. 
The family was in this country at an early date ; Jacques Cor- 
telliau (so written by himself) was the surveyor, who. In 1657, 
laid out the town of New Utrecht, on Long Island, into twenty 
lots, of fifty acres each, one of which was assigned to him for 



520 ■ HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

his residence. He came to America in 1652, for in 1687, when 
(he inhabitants of Kings county took the oath of allegiance to 
James II., the name of Jaques Corteljou is found among them, 
with a note attached, that he had then been in the country 
thirty-five years. He had four sons, all of whom had been born 
on Long Island; their names were Jacques, Jr., Cornells, Pieter, 
Willem; still, in the assessment roll of New Utrecht for the 
year 1676, neither of their names appear. The family on Staten 
Island is undoubtedly descended from that of Long Island, 
though when the removal took place is uncertain ; a part of 
them remained on Long Island, as in 1738 we find the names of 
"pijeter kartelijou,"' and " ailte kartelijou," still at New 
Utrecht. The first mention of the name in the church records 
on Staten Island is that of Jaques, and his wife Jacomyntie, 
(Jemima) Van Pelt, who had a daughter Debora, baptized De- 
cember 26, 1720. Aaron, who was born 1726, and died August 
22, 1789, was undoubtedly the son of Jaques and Jacomyntie, 
as they appear to have been the only family of the name on 
Staten Island. Aaron had a son Peter, born December 27, 1768, 
and died February 3, 1857, and he was the father of Judge 
Lawrence H. Cortelyou. Aaron was one of the original mem- 
bers of the Moravian church. There was a Jacob, probably a 
brother of Peter, born August 26, 1760, and died February 7, 
1817. There is a record of a Peter, who married Sarah Van 
Pelt, December 31, 1801. 

Crips. — This family can scarcely be numbered among the old 
families of the county, though at one time they were tolerablj" 
numerous; they are now almost extinct. The earliest notice we 
have found is the marriage of John Crips and Margaret Bety 
(Beatty) January 5, 1761. They had a son William, born 
April 28, 1764. William and Sarah had a daughter Elizabeth, 
baptized June 23, 1771; Thomas and Mary Ferine were married 
in November, 1791; James and Elizabeth Blake were married 
October 1, 1801; there was a Richard, mentioned in the county 
records in 1766. 

Crocheron. — The first representative of this family of whom 
we have any definite knowledge was John, a jjlanter, whose will 
was dated December 13, 1695; and he appears to have died 
within a year from that time, for the will is recorded September 
8, 1696. His wife's name was Mary, and they had two sons, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 521 

Nicholas and Anthony, the former being the elder. Further 
data respecting them is wanting. 

Henry Crocheron and Nannie his wife had the following sons: 
John, born April 13, 1770; Henry, born December 26, 1772; 
Jacob, born August 23, 1774 (he married Mary Oakley, Febru- 
ary 22, 1797; he was sheriff of the county, etc.), and Reuben, 
baptized September 24, 1789. Abraham Crocheron and Eliza- 
beth his wife had a son Nicholas, born August 9, 1761, and died 
December 30, 1817 (he was familiarly known as "Squire 
Nick"), and Henry, born March 22, 1766. 

There was another Abraham, and Margaret his wife, who had 
a son Daniel, born January 15, 1770. Daniel and Sarah his 
wife had a daughter Mary, born April 8, 1775. John Crocheron 
and Jenny his wife, had a daughter Mary, born March 4, 1773. 
Abraham and Mary Prall his wife had a son Abraham, born 
September 4, 1787, and a son Benjamin, baptized June 28, 1789. 
(Benjamin died a few years ago on the Old Place road ; his 
wife was Susannah Prall, his cousin. Abraham, the father, 
formerly owned the farm now a part of New Brighton). Another 
Daniel had a son Daniel born June 9, 1788. John and 
Hannah Housman were married February 10, 1792. Daniel 
and Jane Jones were married November 29, 1798. Nicholas and 
Winant were married May 28, ISOl. 

The Crocheron family have been prominent in the county; 
Henry was member of congress 1815-17. Jacob was njembftr of 
congress 1829-31; presidential elector in 1836; sheriff 1802, 1811 
and 1821. Nicholas was member of assembly 1854. Richard 
was county treasurer and surrogate in 1836, and for several 
years thereafter. The family is of French descent. 

Ckuser, Cruise, Ckoes, Kroesen, etc. — The family is of 
Dutch descent. It is impossible now to ascertain when Garret, 
who was probably the first of the name in America, emigrated. 
In 1676 we find him rated in Breucklyn, but after that date his 
name does not apjjear among the freeholders of that place. It 
is probable that he removed to Staten Island the following year, 
for then Sir Edmund Andros granted him a intent for one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land on Staten Island. He had, prob- 
ably, the following sons: Hendrick, Cornelius, Dirk or Derick, 
Garret and Jan. Hendrick, who was perhaps the eldest, had 
several children baptized on Staten Island between 1698 and 
1716. Cornelius married Helena Van Tuyl, probably a daughter 



522 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

of Otto Van Tnyl, and bad the following 'children baptized 
here: Hendrick, October 10, 1731; Abraham, July 29, 1733, died 
March 11, 1770; and Cornelius, August 8, 1736. Derick had the 
following children baptized here: Xicklas, May 6, 1690; Derick, 
October 22, 1701; Hendrick, July 3, 1707. Garret had the fol- 
lowing children bajitized here: Cornelius, October 23, 1711; 
Derick, October 18, 1713; Garret, April 1, 1717. Jan had a 
daughter Elizabeth baptized July H, 1713. Cornelius, son of 
Cornelius and grandson of Garret, married Beeltje de Groot, 
and had a son Cornelius, baptized August 26, 1759. 

Abraham, son of Cornelius and grandson of Garret, married 
Antye Simonson, and had a son Johannes, or John, baptized 
J une 4, 1760. (This John had a daughter Elizabeth baptized May 
10, 1789.) 

Garret, son of Garret and grandson of the original Garret, 
married Claartje (Clara, Clare, Clarissa) Blencroft, and had a 
daughter Cornelia baptized August 27, 1740; a daughter Clarissa 
baptized October 11, 1748; and a son Hendrick June 24, 1752, 
and others. 

Garret, son of Hendrick and grandson of the original Garret, 
married Gertrude Van Tuyl, and had the following children: 
Hendrick, baptized December 8, 1723; Femitje (Euphemia ?) 
September 13, 1728; Abraham, August 6, 1732. The late Morris 
H. Cruser and brothers are the direct descendants of John, 
mentioned above. The family was once numerous and promi- 
nent, but like many other of the old families, is disappearing. 

CuBBERLY.— This family is of English descent, but came to 
Staten Island from New Jersey. The name originally was writ- 
ten Coverle. The tirst of the name on Staten Island was Isaac, 
who resided here in 1769. Probablj^ he came here a young 
man, for he married here, in the Jonrneay family. His sons 
were Stephen, Joseph, James, Thomas and Isaac. Isaac mar- 
ried an English woman named Brongliton, and had two sons — 
William, now living in New Jersey, and James, once clerk of 
the county; Mrs. Charles E. Racy, of West New Brighton, is 
also his daughter. Isaac resided at the noted locality known as 
"The Elm Tree," where, though a large jjart of his property is 
now submerged by the waters of the ocean, his dwelling house 
still stands. 

There is another branch of the family which we are unable 
to trace, viz.: Joseph and Auder (sic) his wife had a sou James, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 523 

born October 18, 1776; this James married Eleanor Ralph, Jan- 
nary 20, 1799. The late William Cubberly, of Port Richmond, 
is descended from this branch. 

. George William Daley, for many years prominent in 
the politics of Richmond county, was born in Whitehall, New- 
York, October 7, 1814. He was the eldest son of Erastus and 
Hannah (Stone) Daley. 

His fal her's family came to America in the seventeenth centnry. 
During the war of independence, his great-grandfather, Solo- 
mon Daley, was a soldier in the continental army, and one of 
the budy of men known as the "Commander-in-Chief's Life 
Guard." His mother was the daughter of Elijah Stone, also a 
revolutionary soldier, and was a descendant on her mother's 
side of Andrew Ward, of Watertown, Mass., and George Hub- 
bard of Guilford, Conn., both of whom came to America about 
1630. Mr. Daley early manifested the courage that character- 
ized him in later life, when, at only twelve yeai's of age, he car- 
ried the mail on horseback between Whitehall and Vergennes, 
Vermont, a work of responsibility and often of danger. 

He received his education in the district schools of his native 
place, where he remained till a short time after his marriage, in 
1840, to Miss Helen S. Blanchard, of Rutland, Vermont, when 
he went to reside in Albany and was emj^loyed there as agent 
for the Merchants' Transportation Company. 

In 1851 he removed to New York, and in May, 1853, to Staten 
Island. After this he was for several years general passenger 
agent for the New York Central Railroad Company. 

In 1862 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty- third regi- 
ment of New York volunteers and took an active part in the 
civil war. He rose from the rank of private to be a lieutenant 
of his company and served for two years in Virginia and 
Louisiana until prostrated by sickness from exposure. 

On his return from the army he was employed first by the 
commissioners of emigration and afterward in the custom house 
department, which position he occupied at the time of his death. 
He died Sunday morning, November 2, 1873, at his home in 
Edgewater, Staten Island. 

He had five children: Helen A. Daley, Amelia E., widow of 
Rev. Joseph Alden, D. D.; Charlotte F. Daley, George Henry 
and William Seymour Daley, all of whom, with his widow, 
survive. 



524 HISTORY OF EICHMOND COUNTY. 

Mrs. Daley resides in New York city with her daughters, two 
of whom are professional artists, and a third, Mrs. Alden, is 
an autlior. One son, William S., married Miss Margaret Nixon, 
of Albany, N". Y., and resides in his native city, while George 
Henry, of the firm of Devlin & Co., New York, is a j^rominent 
man of the present day in the history of Staten Island. 

From early life Mr. Daley was warmly interested in politics, 
exerting, first as a wliig and then as a republican, a wide in- 
fluence in the politics of his county, and even of his state. 

He was a manly, straightforward and generous man, a warm 
hearted and faithful friend, whose promises were always to be 
relied upon. 

George Henry Daley, oldest son of the preceding, was 
born in Albany, N. Y., November 1, 1844. After his father's 
removal to Staten Island he attended first the public school 
and afterward the private school conducted by the Rev. J. H. 
Sinclair at Tompkinsville. In June, 1862, he entered, as a 
clerk, the office of Devlin & Co., clothing merchants. New York 
city, and has maintained ever since an unbroken connection 
with this large house, rising by untiring energy, devotion and 
industrj^ to be a partner in the firm. 

In 1867 he married Miss Elizabeth A. Wood, a daughter of 
Mr. William Wood, of London, England. One of their chil- 
dren, Helen S., died in infancy. Their sui'viving children are 
Elizabeth, George Herbert, Edwin Wood, Charles Stanley, 
Alice Wood, Mary Wood and Marjorie Carew. 

Mr. Daley's rare executive genius and sound business quali- 
ties have become widely known and brought him into many 
positions of trust, where confidence and sterling integrity were 
needed. In 1883 he succeeded Messrs. John A. Stewart and 
David H. Decker as trustee of the large estate of the late Hon. 
Albert Ward, a trust of great responsibilities and judgment, lo 
which he devotes much of his time. He is also a director of 
the Staten Island Savings Bank, a stockholder in tlie First Na- 
tional Bank of Staten Island, and in the Staten Island academy 
and Latin school, while he was one of the founders of the 
Bi'ighton Heights seminary. For several years he was a promi- 
nent stockholder in the Staten Island Publishing Companj* and 
piesident of the corporation issuing the " Gazette and 
Sentinel.'" 

He was active in procuring the " Five Ward Amendment'' 





f,.-^^^-^. 



Mt:^ 




HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 525 

to the charter of the village of Edgewater, and at the ensuing 
election in the spring of 1884 he was chosen to represent the 
First ward as trustee of the village. He held the office for two 
years, and for a short time in the latter part of his term he was 
the president of the village. 

Mr. Daley resides in the old "Vanderbilt Mansion," which he 
bought in 1881, the spacious and imposing old structure form- 
ing a striking example of a later type of colonial architecture. 

As an energetic and careful business man, from the beginning 
of his mercantile career he has believed in the principle of 
hard, persistent work and honesty of purpose as the only sure 
ground of success. His stern application of this principle, and 
his unswerving devotion to duty all through his business life 
have brought to him and to tlie firm with which he is connected 
a lasting success. 

A republican in j^olitics, he took an active part, from the fall 
of 1881 to the spring of 1886, in all the local affairs of govern- 
ment, and for his prudence, integrity and nuinly course won 
the respect of even those who had opposed him. 

Decker. — This family is by far the most numerous, as well 
as one of the oldest, on the island. Its progenitor was Johannes 
De Decker, who arrived here in April, 1655. He was a promi- 
nent man in the colony, filling various offices of responsibility, 
and after a public service of many j'ears finally settled down 
for the remainder of his life on his farm of one hundred and 
twenty acres on Staten Island. His numerous descendants have 
so frequently intermarried that at this day it would be difficult 
to trace their genealogy. Some of the elder members retained 
the prefix De, but it has long ago fallen into disuse. Mattheus 
De Decker, probably a son of Johannes, had John, baptized 
September 7, 169—; Abraham, October 21, 1707; Elizabeth, 

April 17, 1711; and Mattheus, , 1715; to this baptism Pieter 

De Decker was sponsor, who was also probably a son of Jo- 
hannes. This Pieter, and Susanna Hetfeel (Hatfield), his wife, 
had the following children baptized : Maria, September 21, 1718; 
Johannes, July 24, 1720; Susanna, May 24, 1724; Sara, October 
23, 1726; Mattheus, June 10, 1728; Eva, March 26, 1732; and 
Abraham, April 7, 1735. 

John (probably a son of Mattheus) and Maria Swaira had a 
daughter baptized July 3, 1726. John (son of Pieter) and 
Nancy, or Anna Merrell, had a son Johannes, baptized April 



526 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

19, 1743, and a son Richard, April 26, 1748. Charles (above 
mentioned) and Lena Swaim had a son Matthj^s, baptized April 
5, 1730, died in infancy; a son Matthens, baptized March 16, 
1733; and a daughter, January 8, 1738. 

Richard, known as "colonel," born May 15, 1747, died May 
26, 1817; his mother was a Merrill (see above), and his wife was 
Wynchie Merrill. They had a son Richard, baptized October 
26, 1788. Matthew (son of Charles), and Merrian, his wife, had 
a son Israel, baptized August 28, 1763, and Israel had a daugh- 
ter baptized February, 1788. John (son of John, above) and 
Elizabeth, his wife, had a son Reuben, born August 6, 1766, and 
Reuben and Mary Swaim were married July 25, 1790. Abra- 
ham and Phebe, his wife, had a son N'oah, born March 26, 
1773, and a son Charles, born April 10, 1775. Moses and 
Elizabeth Wood were married in April, 1769. Matthias and 
Lidde (Lydia) Milburn were married in November, 1775. Isaac 
and Margaret Jones were married August 7, 1791. Jacob and 
Leah Depue were married June 5, 1796. Sylvanus and Sarah 
Parker were married October 24, 1800. Isaac and Elizabeth 
Christopher were married October 13, 1804. 

Matthew made his will April 26, 1787, proved September 15, 
1787, in which he mentions his wife Catharine, son Mat- 
thew, a minor, and daughters Margaret, Elsie, Elizabeth, Ann 
and Catharine, who was lame. 

Hon. John Deckei', of Port Richmond, represents one branch 
of this family; his brothers were Matthias, Benjamin and 
David, the two first deceased. Their father was David, 
and their mother Catharine Decker; David's brothers were 
John, Benjamin and Abraham; they were the sons of Benja- 
min and Mary Egbert. 

De Gkoot.— This family, though originally French, and 
known as Le Grand, for centuries past has been regarded as 
Dutch, the name by which it is now known being simply a 
translation of the French name. The eminent scholar and ad- 
vocate, Hugo de Groot, otherwise known as Gi'otius, was a 
member of this family. Motley, in his life of John of Barne- 
veld, says of him: "He was then (June 5th, 1619) just 36 
years old. Although comparatively so young, he had been 
long regarded as one of the great luminaries of Eurojie for 
learning and genius. Of an ancient and knightly race, his 
immediate ancestors had been as famous for literature, sci- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 527 

ence and municipal abilities, as their more distant progen- 
itors had been for deeds of arms in the feudal struggles of 
Holland in the middle ages. His father and grandfather had 
alike been eminent for Hebrew, Greek and Latin scholarship, 
and both had occupied high position in the University of 
Leydeu from tlie beginning. Hugo, born and nurtured under 
such quickening influences, had been a scholar and poet 
almost from his cradle. He wrote respectable Latin verses at 
the age of seven; he was matriculated at Leyden at the age 
of eleven. When fourteen, he took his bachelor's degree. On 
leaving the University, he was attached to the embassy of Bar- 
neveld, and .lustinus van Nassau to the court of Henry IV. In 
France, before he was flfteen, he received from the Univei-sity 
of Orleans the degree of Doctor of Laws. At seventeen he 
was an Advocate in full practice before the Supreme tribunals 
of the Hague, and when twenty-three years old he was selected 
by Prince Maurice from a list of three candidates for the im- 
portant post of fiscal or attorney-general of Holland. At 
twenty-six he published Mare Liberiim— a little later, his work 
on the antiquity of the Batavian Republic. At twenty-nine he 
had completed his Latin History of the jSTetherlands. His 
great work on the Rights of War and Peace was afterward 
written." 

There were two emigrants of this name to America, viz., 
Willem Pietersen de Groot, wife and five children, came over 
in April, 1662, in the ship called the "Hope;" and Staes de 
Groot, who came over in the "Spotted Cow," the succeeding 
April. 

The name is not found in any of the old state documents, ex- 
cept on Staten Island and in Albany county. The emigrants 
settled in these places, the latter on Staten Island. The earli- 
est notice in local records is as follows : Johannes (a son of 
Staes) and Elizabeth Seckkels, his wife, had the following 
children : Peter, baptized April 2, 1729; Robert, baptized Oc- 
tober 10, 1731; Johannes, baptized February 1, 1735. Peter 
married Claartje (Clare) Post, and had the following children : 
Garret, baptized August 25, 1751; John, baptized May 2, 1753; 
Katrina, baptized July 27, 1755; Gertrude, baptized July 17, 
1758. 

John, son of Peter, married Mary Wood, and they were the 
parents of Jacob de Groot, who died March 11, 1875, aged 86 



52S HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

years, and grandparents of Alfred de Groot, the present rep- 
resentative of the family in this county. 

De Hart. — Of the ancestors of this family on tlie island, 
there is but little to be learned from the local records. What 
we have been able to glean is as follows : Daniel had a sou 
Daniel, baptized October 22, 1707 ; a daughter, April 17, 1711 ; 
a son Matthias, baptized in 1715 ; a son Samuel, baptized 
in 1717, died May 17, 1798. BaUus and Mary Phillipse had 
daughter Catalyn, baptized 1746-7. Matthias, born A.ugust 
21, 1749, died October 20, 1840. Edward had a son Jacob, 
baptized October 24, 1790. Stephen married Margaret Ryers in 
September, 1792. 

Depuv. — At the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, there was 
a Protestant family of this name in Langaedoc. Two brothers 
of this family, Philip and David, then fled to Holland, aad be- 
came officers in the arilly^ William of Orange ; they accom- 
panied him to England, and were both killed at the battle of 
the Boyne. Another brother, Samuel, was an officer in the 
British army, and served in the Low Countries. But some of 
the name were in America before the revocation. In 1662, 
Nicolas du Pui, with his wife and three children, came to this 
country in th*^ ship called the " Purmerland Church;"' he prob- 
ably settled on Staten Island, and was the progenitor of the 
family here, as we find his baptismal name perpetuated among 
them. If this assumption is correct, then the names of two of 
the three children were John and Francis, for we find them 
mentioned in the public records as early as 1680 ; John as de- 
fendant in a suit in March of that year, and Francis as owning 
a tract of woodland near Fresh kill, in December of that year. 
We do not meet with the name of Francis after that date, but 
lind the name of John again, in the church record, as having 
a daughter Elizabeth baptized October 22, 1707. and a son 
Moses,"july 22, 1714. 

Nicolas, perhaps a grandson of the original, and Neeltje 
(Cornelia) Dekker had tiie following children: A daughter, 
baptized April 6, 1724 ; and sons John, baptized June 27. 1725 ; 
Matthew, baptized October 8, 1726 ; Nicholas, baptized June 4, 
1730; Moses, baptized October 27, 1732; Aaron, baptized Au- 
gust 26, 1739. Nicholas, last mentioned, was supervisor of 
Westfield in 1766. John, last mentioned, and his wife Sarah, 
had a son Nicholas, baptized in 1757. Moses, last mentioned, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUXTY. 529 

and his wife Leah, had the following children: John, born 
January 10, 1759 : Nicholas, bom June 3, 1766 ; Moses, bom 
January 17, 1769. Barent. who probably was another son of 
Nicolas and Xeeltje, and his wife Elsie Poillon, had the follow- 
ing children : Martha, baptized May 20. 1750, and Elsie, bap- 
tized December 9. 1739. 

There was a Barent, who made his will June 4, 1792. which 
was probated August 17, 1792, in which he speaks of his wife 
Mary, and the following children: Nicholas. Barent, Daniel, 
A+)raham. Mary, Elsie, Sallie and Elizabeth. These two named 
Barent may be identical, but if so, he was twice married, and 
his daughter Martha was dead when he made his will. 

Diso-swAY. — Marc du Sauchay, the progenitor of the Disos- 
way family, was a native of Picardy, from the valley of the 
Somme. The lords du Sauchaj' came from the House of Cler- 
mont, in the Beauvaisis : one of them is known to have been 
with the Duke of Normandy at the conquest of Britain. Many 
Hugaenots of Picardy were sentenced to banishment or im- 
prisonment. Among this number was Marc du Sauchay. The 
nearness of the low countries offered facilities of escape, and 
thirty families made their home in Harlem, and from Holland, 
subsequently crossing the ocean, founded the new Harlem, on 
Manhattan island, then a wilderness. 

In 1655 Marc made his fii-st voj-age to New Netherland; suf- 
ficiently pleased with the countr\-, he decided to make it his 
future home. He returned to Leyden, and married, March 11, 
1657, Elizabeth, daughter of Guilliame Rossignil, and on April 
2, again sailed from Amsterdam for Manhattan in the ship 
'•Draetaat,"' Captain Bestevaer. taking vnih him his bride, two 
laboring men, and two boys over twelve years of age. The 
names of the men were Johannes Swedes, of Gelderland, and 
Jean Guenon, of Leyden. In 1057 he bought a farm in Brook- 
lyn, and April 10, 1661, tmnsferred his church connection from 
New Amsterdam to this place. July 2, 1675, we find his name 
as purchaser of a "book of martyrs and others." from the 
estate of Jean le Comte for eight}- gilders. In November, 1679, 
he bought lots on Haarn's hook, but sold them " presently." 
June 7. 1683, he and his wife took letters from the Dutch to 
the French church newly formed under Rev. Pierre Daille. He 
moved to Staten Island April 5, 1684, and was still living Oc- 
tober 1, 1706. His children, so far as known, were: Madeline. 



530 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

who married Martin Hardewyn; Marcus, Jeanne, who married 
Conrad Hendricks, of Harlem ; Jean and Marie. His son Mar- 
cus inherited his faihers hinds and died in 1714, leaving each 
child a farm ranging from eighty eight to ninety-five acres. 
Three sons were then living — Job, Israel and Gabriel. His 
daughters were Elizabeth, wife of Peter Barbarie ; Susanne, 
wife of Daniel Hendricks ; Mary, wife of Thomas Eyres; Diane, 
wife of Hendrick Brees ; and Sarah, unmarried. Part of the 
old stone house, built by their ancestor, is still owned by a de- 
scendant. In the county records, often copied by careless or 
illiterate clerks, the name has received many curious changes 
from the original. In the Dutch baptismal records it was al- 
ways written Du Secoy or Du Secay. The late Gabriel P. Dis- 
osway was a descendant of Israel du Sauchay, the son of Mar- 
cus, who died in 1714. He was well known as a philanthropist 
and writer, and was especially interested in anything relating 
to the history of Staten Island and the Huguenots, from whom 
he had descended. He died July 9, 1868, leaving five sons and 
seven daughters. He married Diana F. Riddick, daughter of 
Col. Mills Riddick, of Suffolk, Va. His eldest son, Wilbur 
Fisk, is living, from whom the genealogy is traced. Wilbur 
Fisk, son of Gabriel Poillon and Diana Riddick, son of Israel 
and Anne Doty, son of Israel and Judith Poillon, son of Israel 
and Gertrude Van Deventer, son of Marcus du Sauchay, son of 
Marcus du Sauchay, of Amiers, Picardy, France. 

Sons of Gabriel Poillon and Diana T. Riddick, born 1798 : 
Wilbur Fisk, Clement, Israel, Cornelius Doty, Mills Riddick, 
Richard Henly. Sons of Israel and Anne Dory, born in 1773 : 
Israel Doty, Mark, Gabriel Poillon, Cornelius Ryers, William 
Phoebus. 

Sons of Israel and Judith Poillon were Israel and Mark. Sons 
of Israel and Gertrude Van de Venter were Israel (died 1738), 
Mark, Cornelius, Gabriel (died 1753) ; a daughter Annoitie. 
Sons of Marcus du Sauchay were Job, Israel, Gabriel ; the 
daughters were Elizabeth, Susanne, Marie and Diana. Sons of 
Cornelius, the son of Israel and Gertrude Van de Venter, left 
six daughters and two sons, a mansion on Staten Island, slaves, 
plate, gold watch, sleeve buttons, a riding chair, with particular 
instructions regarding the education of his children, believing 
it to be of the highest importance in life. He died in 1786. 
Israel, his brother, left four sous — Israel, Mark, Cornelius and 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 531 

Gabriel, and one daughter. He left property in slaves, plate, 
furniture, and land in Middlesex, N. J. 

The late Gabriel Poillon Disosway was his direct descendant. 
The name remained little changed until after the revolution, at 
that time it was spelled Dusocay in the county records. The 
grave of Judith Poillon is one of the oldest in the Moravian , 
cemetery, the date being 1776. She was twice married, her first 
husband was Israel Dusocay, her second Judge Ryers, who built 
and lived in the hotel now known as the " St. James " hotel at 
Port Richmond. Tradition says that she was frightened to 
death by the arrival of the British troops on Staten Island. 

The descendants of Cornelius Dusocay remained in the stone 
mansion built by the ancestor, Marcus du Sauchay, for many 
years. It still stands, a substantial, comfortable home, the 
oak timbers bidding fair to out-last many modern structures. 
The independent spirit of the Picard and Huguenot blood of 
their ancestors clung to them during the American war for free- 
dom, and the Disosway' s names were found among the list of 
patriots in times that tried men's souls. 

Du Bois. — This was a large family, some of them residing in 
Brittany, and some in French Flanders. Antoine Dubois, and 
some of his relatives, fled to England as early as 1583, to escape 
persecution for their religious opinions. It is not known when 
the family hrst came on the island, nor who was the first of the 
name; the earliest name mentioned in the church record is that 
of Louis du Bois, Jr., whose wife's name was Catharine Van 
Brunt; they had a son Samuel who was baptized December 11, 
1737. They had also a son Benjamin, and a son John. Ben- 
jamin became a minister of the Reformed Dutch church in 
1764, and was immediately settled over the churches of Free- 
hold and Middletown, N. J., where he remained sixty-three 
years. 

John and Hester his wife had a daughter Mar\^, born June 27, 
1766; he made his will January 17, 1703, which was proved Feb- 
ruary 1, 1794, in which he speaks of his wife Hester; his 
daughters, Hester, wife of Lewis Prall; Martha, wife of Daniel 
Winants; Elizabeth, wife of Charles Laforge; and Mary, wife 
of James Laforge, and his son Richard. 

There was another John who had a son, Nathaniel R., and 
died at the age of 87; his son, Nathaniel, died in May, 1874, 
aged 85 years; his wife was Frances Butler. 



532 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Lewis and Jane Mersereau were married January 12, 1804. 

The family, once tolerably numerous and highly respectable, 
are almost extinct in the county. A family by the name, to 
which Mr. Eugene Dn Bois belongs, purchased the old Walter 
Dongan farm at Castleton Corners in 1859, and still occupy it. 
No connection between this faliiily and the first is known. The 
ancestors of the latter came from Artois, France, in 1675, and 
settled in Ulster and Dutchess counties. 

DusTAN. — This family has for many years been identified with 
the island. William and Peter were natives of Scotland, and 
emigrated to America at an early age. The former, locally 
known as Major Dustan, was born September 11, 1759, and died 
on Staten Island, May 23, 1841, nearly 82 years of age. He left 
one son, Isaac Kip, whose melancholy death is recorded on his 
monument in the Moravian cemetery, as follows: 

" This monument is erected a tribute of esteem to the mem- 
ory of Isaac Kip Dustan, aged 38 years and 7 months, who lost 
his life while in the discharge of his duties as Captain of the 
ill-fated Steamer Atlantic, off Fisher's Island, during the mem- 
orable gale of the 28th of November, 1846." 

Eddy'. — Among present representatives of this family are 
Cornelius C, of Stapleton, and his cousin James, of Huguenot, 
in Westfield. The former is the son of William, who was killed 
by his horse running away, in January, 1828; the latter is the 
son of John, also deceased. William, J(jhn and Andrew, who 
is still living near Woodrow church, Westfield, were brothers, 
and sons of William, the first of the name, who came here from 
New Jersey during the war of the revolution, with the inten- 
tion of remaining but a short time; but either the refusal of a 
pass, or protracted delay in furnishing it, detained him on the 
island, until finally, having probably formed some attachment, 
he relinquished the idea of returning, and settled permanently. 

Andrew Eddy. — William Eddy, the father of the subject of 
this biography, a native of the state of New Jersey, was pressed 
into the service during the war of the revolution. On his dis- 
charge he engaged in agricultural pursuits and married Cathe- 
rine Du Bois, a lady of Huguenot lineage. Their children were: 
James, John, Elizabeth, wife of Abraham Cole ; Catherine, 
married to Andrew Prier ; William, Andrew, and Mary, mar- 
ried to Patrick Leddy. The death of Mr. Eddy occurred in 
1831, at the age of 78 years, and that of his wife in 1832, in her 




^ w 






06>^^c^^ ^ ^^ 



^ 



W^^Q-^-t^t^ \. %\\'i.'r,-\\^-\^ V. 



HISTORY OF KICIIMOND COUNTY. 533 

70th year. Andrew Eddy was born April 3, 1801, in Woodrow, 
where the early years of his life were devoted to the work of 
the farm, with a brief period at school during the winter 
months. Being ambitious to render himself independent by the 
mastery of a trade, he chose that of a carj)enter and was for a 
period of six years thus employed. Embarking then in public 
life he was elected constable and collector for Westfield town- 
ship, served several years in that capacity, and was subsequent- 
ly made assessor. Mr. Eddy was then elected supervisor and 
afterward filled a second term as assessor of the township. 
Unsatisfied to remain idle while not occupied with official duties, 
he engaged in mercantile pursuits at Woodrow, and later, re- 
sumed the labor of the farm. He was, in 1822, married to 
Catherine Poillon, daughter of John P. Poillon, of Staten 
Island. Their children are: Edwin V., Carnes, William H. 
and George W. Mr. Eddy, though deprived by death of the 
comiDanionshiii of his wife on the 20th of August, 1878, con- 
tinued upon the farm until 1884, when, on his removal to Tot- 
tenville, he built the dwelling which is his present residence. 
A lifelong democrat in politics he has relinquished the exciting 
scenes of public life for the quiet and retirement of his home. 
He espouses the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
was formerly treasurer and trustee of tlie church at Woodrow. 

Egbert. — The first emigrant of this name was probably 
Govert Egbert, who came to America in the ship called the 
"Spotted Cow," in 1660, but it is not certain that he ever lived 
on Staten Island. 

The first mention of the name in connection with the island 
is that of Tunis, who bought land in 1698, and sold land to 
John Androvat in January, 1699. His will, dated July 6, 1721, 
mentions seven sons, Egbert, John, Abraham, Jacque, Isaac, 
Lawrence and Tunis. Besides these he had four daughters, 
whose names are not mentioned. 

Tunis married Petronella Dupuy, and his son John was bap- 
tized December, 1745. John had sons, in the order of their 
birth— Joseph, John, Tunis, Samuel, Edward, Thomas, Holmes, 
Cornelius, Henry and William. Of these there were still liv- 
ing in 1876: Edward, on the Manor road, Castleton ; Cornelius, 
on the Amboy road, Southfield, and William, at Graniteville. 

This Cornelius Egbert married the daughter of Bornt Lake, 
who was murdered by Christian Smith, and occupies the same 



534 HISTORY OF RICHMOKD COUNTY. 

house Lake occupied at the time of his death. His brother 
William married another daughter of Lake. 

Probably the same Tunis liad another son named Abraham 
(born September 21, 1747, died October 2, 1816), who was the 
father of the following sons : Abraham, Joseph, Tunis, Corne- 
lius, John, Stephen, James and Edward; two sons and seven- 
teen grandsons, besides grand-daughters and daughters, whose 
names are not given. We subjoin the following, indiscrimi- 
nately, as we have collected them from several records. 

James is mentioned in the county records in 1724, and in 
1766. Peter is also mentioned in 1767. Tunis, probably a son of 
the original Tunis, born 1720, died May 19, 1805. Tunis, 
born January 11, 1759, died November 5, 1825. Moses and his 
wife Caty had a son Abraham, born November 8, 1768, "about 
three o'clock." Moses, the above, was born October 21, 1742, and 
died November 13, 1831. Jacus (James ^) and Trientje Backer 
(Baker ?) had a daughter, baptized October 11, 1743. Abraham 
and Elizabeth Gerresen had a daughter, baptized April 17, 
1744, and a son Benjamin, born August 25, 1768. Abraham and 
Francyntje Parain (Francina Ferine) had a son Abraham, born 
May 22, 1715 ; a son John, baptized April 10, 1720 ; a daughter 
Elizabeth, baptized June 17, 1722. Jacobus (James) and Cath- 
arine Deny had a son Johannes, baptized July 14, 1723 ; a son 
Laurens, baptized March 24, 1724. Jaques and Catharine Bak- 
ker (Baker?) had a daughter Susannah, baptized November 4, 
17R3, identical with the above Jacus. Anthony and his wife 
Mary had a son, Reuben, born September 13, 1770, on "Thurs- 
day, about ten of the clock in y^ morning," a daughter Martha, 
"born April 25, about ten of y^ clock in y" morning, 1772, on 
Saterday," a daughter Eleanor, "born August 7, about one 
of y'' clock in y« morning, 1774." John and Catharine his wife 
had twins, Tunis and Eleanor, born November 11, 1771. Barney 
and Ann Taylor were married October 4, 1801. 

Ellis. — There seem to have been three branches of the Ellis 
family, who emigrated to this country at an early date. Gar- 
ret Ellis, of English ancestry, one of Staten Island's pioneers, 
was born in 1720, and died in 1797 ; his son Capt. Garret Ellis, 
a wealthy farmer, was born in the town of Westheld, Staten 
Island, in 1756, died aged 71 years. He was one of the heroes 
of the war of 1776, and always remained loyal to the cause of 
liberty; during that struggle he was arrested at midnight on 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 585 

Staten Island, and compelled to walk shoeless over frozen 
ground, almost the entire length of the island, and was incar- 
cerated in old Fort Richmond, where he was detained a prisoner 
until the close of the war. Capt. Garret Ellis married Miss 
Mary Tappen of New Jersey, who was born in 1767, died at the 
age of 77 years ; she was of Dutch descent, and both were 
members of the Dutch Reformed church. They had ten 
children, five sons and five daughters ; the three eldest died 
while young; their oldest son Capt. Cornelius, married Miss 
Bealy Butler; they had five children, two of whom, Jacob Ellis, 
a prominent shipbuilder, and Cornelius, ship captain, both re- 
side in Tottenville, Staten Island. Their second son, Capt. Gar- 
ret, married Miss Susan Butler; they had thirteen children. 
Their third son, Abraham, once sheriff of Richmond county, 
married Miss Allice Murry; they had ten children. George W., 
the eldest, now chief clerk of the police department, and for- 
merly supervisor of Richmond county, lives in Kreischer- 
ville. Capt. Garret Ellis' eldest daughter, Fannie (born 1785, 
died in her 82d year) married Capt. Peter Winant, who died 
at sea in 1823. Miss Leah married Jacob Simonson, Miss Lany 
married Henry Butler, and Miss Polly married James Johnson, 
all deceased. 

Eny.\rd. — In the county records is found the name of Jollis 
Inyard, who purchased land on the island as early as 1687, and 
sold land in 1692. In 1708 the same individual, under the name 
of Yellis Ingart, sold land. The names Jollis, Yellis, and Gillis 
are the same, being Dutch corruptions of Giles. He had a son 
Matthys (Matthias) whose wife was Elizabeth Gerritson, and 
they had the following children : Matthys, baptized January 
7, 1730; Gillis, baptized December 17, 1732; Susanna, baptized 
May 4, 1735; Catharine, baptized April 23, 1739; Elisabet, bap- 
tized April 18, 1743; Nicklaes, baptized April 22, 1746. 

Xicholas married Jemima Wood, in July, 1768. They had a 
son Elias, who was the father of Mr. John Enyard, of Port 
Richmond, and grandfather of Rev. William T. Enyard, formerly 
pastor of the Reformed church. Brighton Heights, S. I. 

Fountain. — This family is of French origin. James Fon- 
taine, or de la Fountaine, as it was formerly written, the story 
of whose escai:)e from France after the Revocation, is given by 
Smiles; Fontaine, the French fabulist. Sir Andrew Fontaine, 
the antiquarian, and many others, eminent in science and the 



536 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

arts, are of this family. The progenitor of those of the name 
in America was not driven from his native land by the revoca- 
tion of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, for there is the notice of a 
" Chavel Fontej'n, a Frenchman, and wife," who came to Amer- 
ica in the shij:) called the " Golden Beaver," in 1658; there is 
also a record of Antone Fountain, aged 30, who was a witness 
in a snii on Staten Island, in 1680. The family is not as numer- 
ous in the county as formerly, some branches having become 
extinct, others having removed from the county. Mr. Vincent 
Fountain, of West New Brighton, is the son of the late Capt. 
Henry Fountain, who was born in 1787, and died May 28th, 
1867. He lived for many years in the large house between the 
Church of the Ascension and the building of the Young Men's 
Christian Aesociation, on the north shore. Capt. Henry and 
his late brother John, of Tompkinsville, were sons of Vincent 
Fountain, who was born in 1748, and died December 11, 1819. 
Vincent was probably the son of Anthony Fountain, who was 
supervisor in 1767. 

Besides the above, there is mention in the county or church 
records, of the following: Antone Fontayne, who purchased 
land in 1686; probably he was the same who was witness in a 
suit six years before. Vincent, who both bought and sold land 
in 1697. Richard also bought in 1702. Anthony and Belitze 
(Isabella) Byvank, his wife, had a daughter baptized May 11, 
1729. Anthony and Annatje Geretson, his wife, had a son An 
tone, baptized November 3, 1754, a son John, November 20, 
1757, and a son Cornelius, December 23, 1759. Anthony and 
Susannah, his wife, had a son Charles, baptized September 25, 
1756. John Fountain and Catharine Fountain were married 
December 24, 1804. Cornelus Fountain died January 27, 1813, 
and his wife Elizabeth lived but four days after, having died 
January 31, 1813. They are buried by the side of each other 
in a lield in the town of Southfield, a few rods south of the Old 
Town road, and east of the Staten Island Railroad. 

Frost. — The first of this name in the county, as far as can 
now be ascertained, was Dr. Thomas Frost; he resided at Rich- 
mond, and from the fact tliat courts, supervisors' meetings and 
other public bodies met at his house sometimes, we infer that 
he also kept an inn or tavern. That he was a decided loyalist 
or toi-y, is evident from the indictment found against him by the 
first grand jury which was impanelled after the evacuation of 



HISTORY OF RICHMOlvrD COUNTY. 537 

the island by the British, as maybe seen in another place. The 
first court house built in the county after the formation of the 
new government, was upon land purchased from him, which 
building is still standing, though in a modernized form, and is 
now owned and occupied by Isaac M. Marsh, Esq. That Doctor 
Frost was here just before the revolution is seen by an entry 
in the baptismal record of St. Andrew's church, which records 
the fact that Thomas and Tamar Frost had a son named Wil- 
liam Errell, born February 17, 1774. They had at least three 
more sons, viz., Samuel, Henry and John; what became of the 
two last mentioned we do not positively know, but Samuel 
continued to reside on the island; he was twice married, the 
first time to a lad}" from New Jersey, the second time to Catha- 
rine Bedell, by whom be had one son, the late Samuel H., who 
married Louisa, daughter of the late Mr. Stephen Ketteltas; 
their children were Henry and Stephen K. 

Gakkison. — There were several of the name who emigrated 
from Holland; the earliest were Gerret Gerretson Van Gelthuys, 
a tailor — came over, in 1658, in the ship " The Gilded Beaver;" 
John Gerretson, baker, with his wife and child, came at the 
same time and in the same ship. Wouter and Stoffel came over 
in February, 1659, in the "Faith;" Gerret and Jan came over 
in Decembei' of the same year in the same ship. There were 
several others of the name who came over in succeeding years. 

Whether the family on the island have all descended from 
one immigrant, or from more, it is now impossible to determine. 
The earliest mention of the name on the island occurs in 1691, 
when Jacob gave his brother John a power of attorney to sell 
land on Smoking Point, from which we infer that Jacob was 
not a resident of the island and John was. From 1698 to 1702 
we find the names of Frederick, Christopher Lambert and Seger, 
all as land owners. 

The name seems to have been interchanged with that of Van 
Wagener. For example, Hendrick Van Wagener bought of 
Thomas Dongan a piece of ground on the main road from the 
Narrows to Amboy, May . 23, 1755. This was sold by Van 
Wagener (as Garretson) to Parkinson; by him to Britton; by 
him to others, and is now known as " Concord." We have the 
statement of the late Judge Metcalfe that all of Van Wagener's 
brothers went by the name of Garretson, and that he himself 
finally took the name. The change of Garritson to Van Wage- 



538 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

ner. is partially accounted for by the fact that they had come 
from Wageningen, in Holland, while others of the same name 
had come from other places, as certain lists of immigrants pre- 
served in the documentary history show, and by careless cus- 
tom the name of his birthplace became the name of the man. 

Hendrick is mentioned in the county records in 1768; he lived 
on the Clinch property, Richmond road, near Fingerboard road. 
His son Harraanus was born in April, 1732, and died July 3, 
1813. Harmanus' son John (always named as John, Esq.), was 
born in 1761, and died December 19, 1837; he was county judge 
from 1803 to 1823, presidential elector in 1808, and surrogate in 
1820. John's son Harmanus was member of assembly in 1825; it 
was humorously said of him that he carried more weight in 
the assemblj' than any other member, for he weighed over three 
hundred pounds. This Harmanus had three brothers, John, 
Jr., George and Garret. John, Jr., was member of assembly 
in 1836; his sons are Jacob C. and John of Fresh kill. 

John C. was born March 15, 1788; he is the son of John, and 
his mother was Elizabeth Conner, sister of the late Col. Rich- 
ard Conner; his grandfather was usually called Hannis, which 
is an abbreviation of the word Johannes. 

In addition to the above, we find in the .several church rec- 
ords mention made of the following: Jacob, born September, 
1766, died July 3, 1847; he married Catharine Simonson, Janu- 
ary 18, 1789; John, known as " Co!.,'" born 1761, died August 
15, 1839; he had a daughter baptized September 7, 1787; Nicho- 
las and Christina Van Woglom, son Abraham baptized Sep- 
tember 21, 1744. Daniel and Mary had the following children: 
Charles, born February 11, 1755; Jacob, born Jane 13, 1757; 
and Daniel, baptized August 22, 1762. Daniel made his will 
December 21, 1792, proved Decern her 5, 1793, in which bespeaks 
of his wife Mary, and his children Daniel, Jacob, Charles, 
Cathai'ine Buskirk and Mary. Isaac and Maria Christopher, 
son Christopher baptized March 21, 1731. John and Susan 
Lake married December 23, 1806. Charles, sheriff in 1730, and 
Adrianche, mentioned in the county records in 1763, we find no 
further traces of. 

The following particulars in regard to the Garretson family 

have been furnished by Mr. John H. Garretson of Green Ridge. 

'* Gerrit Gerritsen and Annetje Heermanse his wife, and one 

child, Gerret, then two years old, came from Wageningen in 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 539 

Gelclerland. Tliej^ arrived in tlie ship " Faith " Dec. 23, 1660. 
He was the founder of the family now spread over Hudson, 
Bergen, Passaic and Essex counties in New Jersey, and Staten 
Island. He brought a certificate of good character and Christ- 
ian deportment from the Burgomasters of his native city. He 
settled at Communipaw and died Oct. 4, 1696, his wife having 
died Sept. 7th of the same year. They had seven children: 
Gerrit, Jannetje, Fitze, Harmanus, Aeltze, Hendrick and Johan- 
nes. Six of these were married. Some of them took the name 
of the place their father came from for their family name, others 
did not. Gerrit, the eldest married Neesje Pieters, May 11, 
1681, and had children: Elizabeth, Peter, Gerrit, Annetze, Jo- 
hannis, Abraham and Jacob. The Staten Island Garretsons 
are descendants of Johannis of this family, who married Mar- 
garet Sip, May 22, 1713. 

" Johannis had children, — Gerrit, Johannis, Coi-nelius, 
Jacobus, Hendrick, Abraham, Harmanus and Hannah. The 
last was born on Staten Island, as is supposed, the family mov- 
ing hither in 1732. He had property sufficient to give these 
children a good start in life. His home place was on the old 
Town road, now occupied by H. Meyer. This he gave to his 
second son, Johannis, who, following the custom already alluded 
to, adopted the name of Van Wagenen. Cornelius, the third 
son, married Claasje Pieters, and settled in Metuchen, N. J. 
Jacobus married a Simonson, and settled at Clifton, on his wife's 
farm. 

" Hendrick married Catlieriue Paulerson, December 3, 1747, 
and lived on the John Britton place on the Richmond road. 
Garrison's Station is on property of his descendants. Abra- 
ham married and lived in Bergen. 

" Harmanus married Autty Simonson, Apr. 26, 1759, and 
lived on the old Town road till 1790, after which he moved to 
the farm now owned by Mr. Erastus Wiman. They had three 
children. These were Margaret, John and Dinah. The first 
married Harry Guyon, and inherited the Guyon place, the 
second married Martha Cadmus and had the old town farm, 
and the third married Joshua Mersereau and moved to Steuben 
county. 

"John Garretson and his wife Martha had children: Jane. Har- 
manus, Alida, Dinah, John, George, Richard, James, Garret 
and Martha. Jane married Henry Seguine and had children: 



540 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Joseph and John. Harmanus married a Miss Cadmus, had a 
son. Jasper, who lived in Bergen, the early home of his mother. 
Harmanus had three other wives but left no other children. Alida 
married George Van Pelt; Dinah married John Tysen; John 
married Ann Crocheron and left two children, Jacob C. and 
John H., now of Green Ridge; George married Susan de Groot 
and had a son, George and a large family of girls; Richard and 
James died unmarried; Garret married Mary Ann Clauesson, 
and left children, John J., William and three daughters; and 
Martha married twice — John Sawyer and James Laforge. 

" Jacob C. Garretson married Harriet N. Ketcham and had 
children: John, Philip, Henry, Jacob C, Erskine White, Sarah 
(married John Eadie), Ella (married Craig Ketcham) and Har- 
riet (married Albert Serrell). The last named, Jacob C, had 
sons, Henry and Jacob, who are married." 

GuYON. — This is an ancient and honorable French Protestant 
family. Some of them escaped at an early date from the per- 
secutions in their native country, and came to America; others 
remained until the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, when most 
of them escaped to Holland, but a few remained to face the 
peril. AVilliam de Guyon de Geis fled to Holland, and took 
service under William of Orange, and lost an arm in that ser- 
vice in Germany; he died in 1740. Several of his descendants 
held commissions in the English army. Of those who remained 
in France, an aged pastor was arrested, and upon being 
searched a letter from Claude Brousson, who was a proscribed 
preacher, was found upon him, and he was forthwith exe- 
cuted, and the house at Nismes in which he was captured was 
razed to the ground, as a punishment to its owner for giving him 
shelter. The last Count Guyon was in the Austrian service as late 
as 1848. There were, probably, two of the family who came to 
New York at an early date — Gregory and Jaques. The former 
lived at New Rochelle in 1710, and was then 44 years of age, 
and his wife, Mary, was 40. The latter settled on Staten Island, 
and received a patent from Sir Edmund Andros, dated March 
27th, 1675, for about 178 acres of land on the island at a quit 
rent of eight bushels of wheat. This patent is still in existence, 
and the land is still owned and occupied by his direct descend- 
ants, the family of Mrs. Dr. Ephraim Clark. We find in the 
county records notices of two law suits: one, " Jacob Jeyoung 
against Isaac See, in 1678; the other. Jaques Jeyoung against 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 541 

flfrancis Martinoe, March 6,1781." As he was the only individual 
of thy name of Guyon — or Jeyoung, which is nearer the French 
pronunciation — he was, without doubt, the plaintiff in both 
suits, the name Jacob being either a clerical error or an instance 
of clerical ignorance. He had a son James, bora January 5, 
1714. James had a son James, born March 16, 1746, whose wife's 
name was Susannah, and they were the parents of the late 
Major James Guyon, father of Mrs. Clark. Major James is 
known in our civil list as James, Jr., was born December 24, 
1778, and died March 9, 1846. He was member of assembly in 
1812-18, and representative in congress in 1819-20. He was mar- 
ried three times: first, to Ann Bedell, mother of Mrs. Clark; 
second, to Ann Ferine; and third, to Martha Seguine; the two 
last were childless. 

The present Major James Guyon was the son of Harmanus 
and his wife, Elizabeth Holmes, married May 2, 1802. Har- 
manus — usually called Harry — was member of assembly 1819-20. 
He was the son of James by his second wife, Margaret Garrison, 
and half-brother of James, Jr. 

In the old church records of St. Andrew's we find the follow- 
ing, which we are unable to place: John and Elizabeth Butler, 
married January 12, 1800. Cornelius and Getty Mersereau, 
married May 16, 1807. 

Hatfield. — The tradition of the family is that James Hatfield 
and a brother came from England long before the revolution; 
the brother settled in New Jersey, but James on Staten Island. 
During the war James was a decided whig, a rare occurrence, 
particularly on Staten Island, and was incarcerated by the 
British, or tories, somewhere in New Jersey, but was soon 
released by the Americans. His sons were James and John D., 
the latter of whom was born April 5, 1777, and died December 
3, 1856. He married Mary, daughter of Jacob Van Felt, and 
they were the parents of the following children : John, Moses 
(both of whom were lost at sea in December,. 1889); Maria, wife 
of Captain J. W. Barnes, of Port Richmond; Jacob, died in 
infancy; Jacob, born March 17, 1817. 

There is a record of a Benjamin Hatfield, who married Nanne 
Merrill, January 10, 1765, and of Susanna Hatfield, who was 
the wife of Pieter Decker, and had a child baptized as early as 
1718. (See the Decker family). Whether these were members 
of the same family, it is impossible now to determine. 



542 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Haughwout. — The date of the arrival and the name of the 
progenitor of this family are lost. It was never very numerous, 
and the notices of it in the county and church records are few. 
The earliest mention of it is where Egbert Haughwout was 
sponsor at a baptism April 2U, 1709, and where Peter Haugh- 
wout sold land in 1708. Egbert had a daughter baptized May 
4, 1714, and Peter and Neltje (Cornelia) Bakker, his wife, had 
eight children baptized between 1710 and 1736. Jan and Eliza- 
beth Hooglant had a daughter baptized October 16, 1720. Peter 
and Aaltje (Alida) Bennett, of Long Island, had the following 
children: ^Neltje (Cornelia), baptized July 28, 1751: Peter, June 
24, 1752; Nicholas, March 12,1758; and Wynant, April 20, 1760. 
He owned a large property at the locality now known as Wil- 
low Brook, or the Gun Factoiy, in Northfield. He made his 
will December 15, 1787, probated September 6, 1792, in which 
he speaks of his wife Alle (or Altje), his sons Peter, Nicholas 
and Wynant. and his daughters Alle Webb, Nelly Cozine, and 
his grandchildren, the children of his daughter Nelly, and 
Alettee, Garrett, Peter and Jacobus. 

His son Peter was the father of the late Peter N., of Port 
Richmond. His son Wynant was the father of Simon, of Gran- 
iteville, and his son Nicholas was father, of Nicholas, now de- 
ceased, who was engaged in the oyster business, and was said 
to be the first to introduce oysters "on the Canal street plan," 
that is, stewed or otherwise cooked, before which they could 
only be procured raw. Egbert and Elenor Garebrantz had a 
son Daniel, baptized March 8, 1782. Nicholas had a daughter 
baptized August 6, 1786. Wynant had a sou Isaac, baptized 
October 28, 1787. Peter had a son Daniel, baptized June 7, 
1788. 

Charles A. Herpicii is of German descent, and the grand- 
son of Carl Augustus Herpich, a cloth manufacturer who re- 
sided in Grossenhain, Saxony. His children were two daugh- 
ters and three sons, of whom the youngest, Carl Augustus, re- 
moved to Berlin and engaged in the fur business. By his mar- 
riage to Emily Opperman, of Berlin, were born children : 
Charles A., Julius F., Rudolph G., and one daughter, Theresa 
Amelia. 

The birth of Charles A., the subject of this sketch, occurred 
on the 25th of February, 1831, in 13erlin. In youth he entered 
a grammar school, afterward received a collegiate education, 




vMR'\xs\.» \.. w^.^^.'!,^^.\>\^ % i. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 543 

and on the completion of his conrse of study began his business 
career as a furrier with his father, during his apprenticeship of 
four years becoming familiar with all its branches. He par- 
ticipated actively in the revolution of 1848, was captured and 
for a brief period confined in the fortress of Spandau. On his 
release Mr. Herpich, l)eing disinclined to military service, to 
which he was liable, determined to emigrate, and in February, 
1849, joined a party en route for Sonth Australia. After a brief 
experience in the colonies he returned in 1850 to Berlin, later 
spent some time in travel in Germany and England, and in 
August, 1851, sailed for America, landing in New York. He 
at once accepted a situation, continued for two years thus em- 
ployed, and in 1853 embarked for Europe with a view to mak- 
ing his first purchases as a dealer in furs in New York city. 
He speedily established an extensive business in all parts of 
the country, as a successful merchant in skins and tiie manu- 
factured goods. Mr. Herpich has devoted little time to inter- 
ests apart from his legitimate pursuits. He is president of the 
German Club of Staten Island, and has been a member of the 
board of trustees of the village of New Brighton. His public 
spirit induced him to accept the office of supervisor of the town 
of Castleton, but aside from this he has declined such honors. 
He is a member of the German Lutheran church of Stapleton 
and president of its board of trustees. 

Mr. Herpich was mari-ied on the 22d of February, 1857, to 
Miss Matilda, daughter of Ephraim Hoffman, of Weissenburg, 
Bavaria. Their only son, Carl Augustus, is now jjursuing his 
studies. 

HiLLYER. — John Hilh^er, sometimes written Hilliard, lived 
on Staten Island in 1693, and married Elizabeth Dej^ in 1714. 
their children were : John, Elizabeth, Mary, James, William, 
Nathaniel, Simon and Lawrence. The present families of the 
name are descended from the youngest son Lawrence. His son 
John was born in July, 1763, and died in July, 1848. His wife 
Elsie Merrill was born in November, 1768, and died in August, 
1858. Their children were : Lawrence, and John B., the father 
of James A., late of the firm of Pine, Hillyer & Co., of West 
New Brighton; and Abraham, of the firm of Hillyer & Hartley, 
of New Brighton, beside several other children. 

Other Hillyers are mentioned in the records of St. Andrew's 
church as follows : John and Esther his wife had a daughter, 



544 HISTORY OF KICIIMONB COUNTY. 

born September 19, 1756; a son, Nathaniel, born October 2, 
1765; a daughter, born November 14, 1768. John, Jr., had a 
son Abraham, born January 20, 1759. William and Dinah his 
wife had a daughter, born December 24, 1748, and a daughter, 
born September 11, 1756. John and Mary his wife had a 
daughter, born March 29, 1774; a son, John, born April 18, 
1776. Lawrence and Ann Larzalere married December 4, 1808. 

Holmes. — The jarogenitor of this family was Obadiah, or, as 
he sometimes wrote it, " o Badiah." He came from England 
in the latter half of the seventeenth century, and obtained a 
patent for a valuable tract of land in Southlield, which remained 
in the family for several generations. His name is found in the 
county records as early as 1683. There is a link missing in the 
family chain, which it now appears impossible to supply. There 
is no record of the names of his children. His grandson Samuel 
lived and died on the paternal estate, and had six daughters 
and two sons, Baker and Samuel. The latter married Margaret, 
daughter of Stephen Cole, and had the following children : 
Samuel, James, John, Cornelius, Van Rensselaer, George VV., 
Eliza, and Ann, wife of David Mersereau, of Northlield. 

HousMAN. — We have no means of ascertaining when the first 
of this name came to America from Holland. The earliest men- 
tion of the name is found in the assessment roll of Boswyck 
(Bushwick), L. I., where the name of Charles Housman occurs 
in the years 1675 and 1676. The earliest mention of the name 
in a church record on Staten Island is as follows : John and 
Wynje Symons (Simonson) had a daughter, baptized September 
4, 1726; a son Aart (Aaron or Aithur) May 24, 1730; a daughter 

, June 1, 1732; a son Dirk, February 29, 1736, died July 

29, 1807; a son Abraham, December 9, 1739: a daughter Eliza- 
beth, October 11, 1733, and a daughter Jemima, July 19, 1748. 
Isaac, born November 4, 1775, died December 2, 1857, he was 
married to Hannah Ferine April 9, 1807. Peter had a daughter 
baptized August 6, 1785, and another December 7, 1788. The 
most prominent members of the family were John, who was for 
many years one of the inferior judges of the common pleas, mem- 
ber of assembly 1804, surrogate 1809, and supervisor repeatedly, 
and Isaac R., also one of the judges, member of assembly 1823, 
and supervisor repeatedly. The Sailors' s Snug Harbor property 
was purchased from him. Notices of the family are exti-emely 
meager in the county records. James made his will November 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 045 

1, 1801, which was proved September 22, 1803, in which he 
speaks only of his brothers Anthony and Jacob. 

Jacobson. — The first of iliis name upon the island, of whom 
anything is known, was Christian Jacobson. He was a sea- 
faring man, and captain of a vessel belonging to and sailing for 
the Moravian sect, mention of which is made in connection with 
that church. His nationality has been variously credited to 
Sweden, Denmark and Holland, with the weight of evidence 
pointing toward the latter. He bought and enlarged a farm in 
New Doi'i:), where he lived. During the revolution a party of 
British soldiers visited his house at night and shot him, the 
wound proving fatal in a few hours. He was a man of consid- 
erable wealth. His son, John Van De Venter, was born in 
1768, and died in 1826. He had sons, Peter, Cornelius, Bedell, 
Israel and Abraham ; and a daughter, who became the wife of 
Israel Bedell. Cornelius married a daughter of Isaac R. Hous- 
man, and settled on Long Island. 

The will of Christian Jacobson bears date January 10, 1782, 
and is signed by his mark, attested by sworn witnesses, from 
which circumstance it is thought probable that it was made 
in his dying hours, after he had received the fatal shock, 
and when he was physically unable to write his name. 
The will mentions his wife Ann, his son, John V.. daughters 
Catharina and Elizabeth, and brother-in-law, Cornelius Van. 
deventer. To the first of his daughters he gave £1,050, 
and to the second £1,000. The will also contains the following 
item: "I give to the Brethren's church on Staten Island the 
sum of Twenty Pound, and to the Reverend Mr. Gambold the 
sum of ten pound, and to the said mr. Gambold the sum of 
Twenty Pound for the use of the Missionaries among the 
Indians." 

Johnson. — It is impossible to trace the Johnsons back to 
their several progenitors in this county. Evidently, they are 
not of the same origin. The name is English, but some of them 
are of Dutch extraction, having Anglicized the Dutch name of 
Jansen. We give extracts from the various records indiscrimi. 
nately, leaving each one of the name to appropriate his own 
ancestors. The earliest is Peter, who was i^laintiff in a law 
suit in 1680. Thomas and Ann Bouwman, son Casj)er, baptized 
June 30, 1728. Johannes and Jannetje (Jane) Glascow, son 
Thomas, baptized February 29, 1736. Nathaniel and Sophia 

35 



546 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Van Gelder, son Henricks, baptized November 19, 1738. Niers 
and Sara Morgen had daughters, baptized in 1731, 1739 and 
1740. Peter and Mary Taylor were married October 24, 1754. 
Isaac and Elender Bowman were married in 1764. Peter and 
Malli (Molly) Lister, son Jouneton (Jonathan), baptized Oc- 
tober 2, 1755. John and Cornelia Ceilo, son Peter, baptized 
November 7, 1753. The above are from the Dutch church 
records, excejjt the marriages of Isaac and Peter, which, with 
the following, are from St. Andrew's. Do we and Margaret, 
daughter Ann, born May 7, 1771. Do we made his will Novem- 
ber 10, 1783, proved June 7, 1788, in which he mentions his sons 
Dowe and James. Winaut and Mary had a daughter Sophia, 
born December 17, 1772, and a son David born April 13, 1774. 
Winaut, not the above, made his will June 18, 1803, proved 
June 30, 1803, in which he mentions his wife Mary and sons 
Winaut and Jesse. These sons married : Winaut, Catharine 
Guyon, November 27, 1797, and Jesse, Rachel Totten. January 
11, 1804. Mattice (Matthias) had a son William, born July 17, 
1751, who was baptized in May, 1772, then an adult. George 
had a son Thomas, born August 17, 1771. Isaac and Ploney 
(Appolonia) Frome were married in March, 1772. Nathaniel and 
Catharine Woglom were married November 9, 1791. Louis and 
Phebe Van Pelt were married December 24, 1793. John (born 
in 1770, died June 2, 1832), and Patty (Martha) Bedell were 
married March 23, 1794. He was a potter and carried on his 
business on the Shore road, in the vicinity of Elm Park, Port 
Richmond. They had the following sons : John, merchant at 
Richmond, S. I., born January 3, 1795, died December 19, 1859; 
Joseph B., merchant at Port Richmond, born in November, 
1786, died Juh' 4, 1849; Israel D., merchant at Port Richmond, 
born April 15, 1803, died February 9, 1873 ; and James. 

Jacob, brother of the potter, married Eliza Haughwout, Jul}' 
28, 1795; their sons were Peter H., James, Isaac, Benjamin and 
Jacob. William, brother of the potter, married Catharine 
Martling, Ai)ril 28, 1802; their sons were John, James, William, 
Edward and Channing; they had also a daughter Sarah, who 
married Hugh Gibson, and died August 25, 1826, in her 69th 
year; their son John, born Februarj^ 13, 1803, died November 
3, 1865. Edward, brother of the potter, born October 12, 1776, 
died September 4, 1856. Abraham and Jane Jennings were 
married September 24, 1794. David and Jane Winaut were 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 547 

married June 23, 1796. Ephraim and Catharine Laforge were 
married October 10, 1797. James and Letitia Totten were mar- 
ried February 20, 1805. Anthony and Fanny Oakley were 
married January 28, 1807. Esek, of Tottenville, was grandson 
of James, and son of Abraham, who built one of the first 
houses on the Billop estate, after the sale by confiscation. 

Jones. — There were several families of this name in the 
county from early dates, between whom there appears to have 
been no relationship whatever. We submit a brief genealogy 
of some of the early families of this name. 

The earliest one named is Edward, whose wife was Catharine 
Decker, and they had the following children: Edward, baptized 
July 20, 1718, died young; Mattheus, baptized November 2, 
1719; Abigail, baptized April 22, 1722; Edward, baptized Au- 
gust 14, 1726. Mattheus, above named, married Margaritje 
(Margaret) Gowan, and they had a daughter Catharine, baptized 
June 7, 1743. 

There was a John, whose wife was Rachael Yan Engelen, and 
they had the following children: Elizabeth, baptized April 10, 
1732; Johannes, baptized March 9, 1735; a daughter, baptized 
in 1737; Lucretia, baptized March 30, 1740; Isaac, baptized 
April 22, 1747. Abraham and Janneije Persnet had a daughter 
Jane, baptized May 2, 1753. Edward and Martha, his wife, had 
a son Abraham, born March 31, 1772. Abraham died on a pass- 
age from Shelbourne, N. S., in July, 1792. 

JouRNEAY'. — Moillart Journeay, from Pays de Vaud, came to 
America in April, 1663, in the ship called "The Spotted Cow," 
but where he settled is not known. The earliest mention of the 
family in connection with the island is in the following court 
record: 

"Administration Granted to Mr. Paulus Richards & Obadiah 
Holmes on the Estate of Malliard lournei. 

" Whereas Malliard lourie late of Staten Island, did in his 
Last will & Testament give & bequeath all his Estate of what 
nature or kind soever unto his wife Elizabeth du Mon, for the 
Maintenence of her Selfe & Children during her Widdowhood, 
but in Case shee should happen to Remarry then the Estate 
shee should Leave to be divided Equally, the one half or Moiety 
to his wife; the other halfe or Moiety to her Cliildreii nominat- 
ing & appointing David De Marez & loost Van Obinis E.xec- 
uto.rs in Trust to see the pformance of the S.d Will, And it Soe 



548 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Happening that the sA Elizabeth hath since Joyned her selfein 
marriage to anotlier pson upon Staten Island, but the afore- 
named David De Mai-ez & loost Van Oblinis have neglected 
their duty in Causeing a division to bee made of the Estate of 
the deceased as directed or takeing any other Care thereof, of 
which Complaint was made at the Court of Sessions for the 
West Riding of Yorke Shire upon Long Island, held at Graves- 
end June last, who nominated & appoynted M^ Paulus Rich- 
ards of this City Merch.t & Obadiah Holmes of Staten Island 
in their Stead & Places. 

" Dated in New Yorke the 8 day of July 1678." 

John Journeay bought and sold land in 1700. The name is 
not again met with in any church record now in existence, until 
we find it in that of St. Andrew's church, about the middle of 
the last century, as follows: John and Martha his wife had the 
following children: John, born January 4, 1752; Albert, born 
March 8, 1755; Nicholas, born August 22, 1756; William, burn 
August 6, 1759, and Richard, born August 7, 1771. 

The above named Nicholas is mentioned in the county rec- 
ords in 1791 as Nicholas, Jr.; there must therefore have been 
another Nicholas, whose name we have nowhere met. Nicho- 
las, son of John, had a son Nicholas, baptized November 1, 
1789. Josei^h and Mary Winant were married December 29, 
1807. John and Patience Cole were married in July, 1802. 
John (not the last named, unless Patience Cole was his second 
wife) made his will March 7, 1803, proved April 21, 1803, in 
which he speaks of his wife Patience, his sons Albert, Robert, 
Abraham, John, William, James and Richard, and his daugh- 
ters Martha Randolph,- Catharine Fountain and Maria, wife of 
Dr. Henderson. Maria Journeay was married to Dr. R. Hender- 
son in 1792. 

Lafokge. — The name of De la Forge appears in the 

assessment roll of Boswyck (Bushwick) in 1676, and among 
those who took the oath of allegiance in Kings county in 1687, 
is the name of Adrian La fforge, who had then been in the 
county fifteen years. In 1738 there was an Adrian Laforge, who 
bought land on Staten Island. From the similarity of the name, 
the inference is natural that if they were not identical, they 
were connected; this is, however, conjecture. There appear to 
have been two branches of the family, the Castleton and the 
Westfield, who may or may not have had a common origin. The 




>■% 



THE BARNE TYSEN HOUSE. 
Karle's Neck. Built about 1680. 




THE DANIEL LAKE HOUSE. 
New Dorp. Built before 1 TOO. 



w*\>xT>vt, ^ >4\l*^■^v^J^., h. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 549 

present living representative of the Castleton branch is Mr. G. 
M. Laforge, of Illinois. The late Mr. Peter D. Laforge, also of 
Illinois, and the late Capt. John Laforge, of West New Biigh- 
ton, were his brothers. Their father was David, and their mother 
Gertrude, daughter of John Martling (see Martling family). 
David's father was Peter, who was the son of Benjamin; David's 
brothers were Peter, John, Benjamin, Jacob, Richard Channing 
Moore. Peter, David's brother, was the father of Mr. Peter C. 
and David, of Port Richmond. 

Of the Westheld branch, we have only the following notices: 
David and Catharine had a son Henry Seguine, baptized May 
15, 1790. John and Phebe Bedell married September 15, 1804. 
James and Catharine Winant married February 8, 1806. 
David and Ann Johnson married July 8, 1S07. 

Lake. — This family is of English origin and settled on Staten 
Island about 1670. Daniel Lake applied for a grant in 1679. He 
had two sons, Daniel and William. Daniel died in 1723, leaving a 
son Daniel, who was boi-n January 26, 1719, died July 10, 1762, 
leaving a son William, born January 7, 1750, died March 21, 
1783, leaving a son Daniel W., born September 9, 1780, married 
Miss Mary Gifford, daughter of William Barnard Gilford, 
Esq., March 31, 1803, died October 6, 1835. He left sons, 
John still living at Buffalo, N. Y., and Arthur G., born Octo- 
ber 14, 1811, died April 22, 1887. Joseph, born July 8, 1753, 
and his wife Catharine, born June 2, 1755, both died March 14, 
1813, within one hour of each other. They had a daughter Pa- 
tience, born May 30, 1790. There was another Joseph, also born 
in 1753, and died May 24, 1843, in his 90th year. There was still 
another Joseph, born in 1773, and died March 16, 1854. He 
lived on the Manor road near the Four corners, Castleton. Wil- 
liam and Mary Tysen, his wife, had the following sons: William, 
born November 16, 1769; Bornt, born March 25, 1771, killed 
October 27, 1815; Joseph, born May 12, 1777. Bornt had the 
following sons: William, Joseph, Daniel and John, of whom 
John was living in 1876 at Graniteville. Daniel and Margaret, 
his wife, had a son Daniel, born May 12, 1777. Cornelius and 
Susan Androvet were married April 6, 1794. Joseph and Eliza 
Van Pelt were married January 20, 1798. Daniel and Margaret 
Jackson were married June 5, 1802. Daniel Lake made his will 
October 13, 1789, proved September 4, 1792, in which he men- 



550 HISTORY OF KICiniOXD COUNTY. 

tions his wife Sarah, his sons Daniel and Joseph, and his grand- 
son Daniel, son of his son William, deceased. 

Larzklere. — The earliest mention of this name occurs in the 
county records, where Jacob bought land in 1686. Nicholas 
bought land in 1693; he was at one time sheriff of the coixnty. 
There was another Jacob, probably a son of Nicholas, whose 
wife's name was Alice; they had a son Daniel, born June 16, 
1757, and a son Benjamin, born October 22, 1761. Nicholas, 
probably a brother of Jacob, whose wife's name was Sarah, 
had a daughter Johanna, born January 7, 1768. Jacob and 
Elsy (or Alice, the same mentioned above) had a son Rich- 
ard, born June 18, 1771. Benjamin (not the one mentioned 
above) was born July 6, 1740, and died October 6, 1802; he 
made his will June 17, 1802, in which he mentions his wife 
Sarah, and his children Benjamin, Jacob and Catharine. 

The family, once an important one in the county, is now 
nearly, if not quite, extinct, and it is impossible to obtain a con- 
nected genealogy. There was a Reverend Jacob, a minister of 
the Reformed Dutch church, in North and South Hampton, 
Penn., from 1797 to 1819, who was probably connected with the 
Staten Island family. 

Latourette. — The original Latourette was a French Hugue- 
not, but when he came to America is unknown. The family is 
not among the earliest settlers on Staten Island. The first men- 
tion of the name we have found is as follows : Jean and Maria 
Mersereau had the following children : David, baptized April 
24, 1726, David Latourette, sponsor; Anthony, January 24, 1730; 
and Henry, January 24, 1731. Pierre La Turrete and Mariamne 
Mersereaux had a son Daniel, baptized March 3, 1728, and 
twin sons David and Jaques, October 31, 1730. David and 
Catharine Poillon, son Jaques, baptized March 19, 1732. James, 
probably one of the Jaques mentioned above, and Elizabeth, 
his wife, had sons, John, born December 11, 1764; Jonathan, 
born January 31, 1766; and Henry, born April 22, 1775. David 
and Elizabeth, his wife, had a daughter Catharine, born No- 
vember 9, 1766. John and Susannah, his wife, had a son John, 
born September 30, 1764. James and Mary, his wife, had a son 
David, born July 7, 1786. David and Phebe Cole married No- 
vember 12, 1808. Henry, of Fresh kills, weaver, made his will 
January 19, 1794, proved December 30, 1794, in which he speaks 
of his wife Sarah, his brother Henry, deceased, his sons Henry, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. ^51 

John and Peter, and his daughters Susan, wife of Peter Cole, 
and Ann, wife of William de Groot. Peter's wife was Elizabeth 
Androvette. 

Lawrence. — William Lawrence settled at Great St. Albans, 
in Hertfordshire, England. He had three sons and one daugh- 
ter : John, William, Thomas and Maria. All of these, except- 
ing Thomas, embarked for America Api'il 2, 1635, in company 
with Governor Winthrop, and landed at Plymouth, Mass., in 
the same year. The other brother, Thomas, came over a little 
later. Not many years later they were all four living at New 
Amsterdam or on Long Island. John, the oldest son, became 
mayor of the city of New York in 1672, and held the same of- 
fice again in 1691, and in 1692 became Judge of the supreme 
court, which office he held until his death in 1699. The third 
son was Thomas Lawrence, born about 1624, emigrated from 
England after his two brothers and sister, and settled in Mil- 
ford, Conn., in 1639. In 16.1.^ he was living at Newtown, on 
Long Island, and was town clerk of Newtown from 1659 to 1662, 
and one of the patentees of Newtown of March 16, 1666, as were 
three of his sons, Thomas, William and John, under the Dongan 
patent of November25, 1686. Hiswife's name was MaryTownly 
and it is said she was the Mary Townly, the heiress of the 
famous Townly estate in Lancashire, England. He died at New- 
town in July, 1703, leaving his widow Mary and several children 
surviving him. Their second son was William Lawrence, who 
married, in 1676, Annetje, daughter of Samuel Edsall, and was 
a cornet of dragoons, one of the committee of safety, and one 
of the council of Governor Leisler. In 1702 and until 1706 he 
was one of the six who formed Lord Cornbury's council. Their 
only son was William Lawrence, who resided at Newtown, on 
Long Island. He married, May 26, 1727, Elizabeth, daughter 
of Samuel Hallet. His will is dated December 3, 1731, and he 
died December 11, 1731. Their youngest son. Dr. James Law- 
rence, was born March 1, 1732, married, November 29, 1763, 
Anne, daughter of Charles Jandine, a French Huguenot, lived 
in New Yoi'k and Staten Island, and died in New York January 
9, 1804. His wife died November 15, 1807. They left no son, 
but two daughters : Sarah Lawrence, born February 27, 1759, 
married Joseph Ridgway. and died in February, 1823, leaving 
Ann, Joseph, Mary, James and Elizabeth ; and Catharine Law- 
rence, born January 18, 1763, married Jacob Winants, and died 



552 HISTORY" OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

January 12, 1820, leaving four children, Elizabeth, Peter, 
Daniel Winant and Jacob. Jacob Winant's oldest son, Cap- 
tain Peter, was born in 1784 and died at sea in 1823. He mar- 
ried Miss Fannie Ellis, who was born in 1785, and died in her 
82d year. They left six children, four daughters and two sons: 
Mary, Catharine, Garret E., Laney, Sebastian and Sarah Ann. 

LisK. — This family was never very numerous on the island, and 
we iind little mention of it in any records. James, the earliest 
mentioned, had a son John, baptized March 25, 1701. He is 
also mentioned as having bought land in 1706; he had a son 
Thomas, who married Catalyntje Van Pelt, and had daughters 
baptized in 1729, 1731, 1739 and 1745; John, son of James, mar- 
ried Rachel Haughwout, and had a son Jacob baptized Jan- 
uary 2, 1728. Matthias and Anastasia had a son Moses born 
December 7, 1766. John and Mary had a son Thomas born 
September 19, 1756; he made his will August 24, 1793, in which 
he mentions his children Thomas, Franky and Catharine. 
There is an Alexander Lisk mentioned in the court records in 
1724. 

LocKMAN. — This is one of the oldest of the Dutch families in 
the province. The first mention of the name is that of Govert 
Lockermans (sometimes spelled Lookermans), who arrived in 
America in 1633, in the carvel "St. Marty n." He was a minor 
when be arrived, and came as an apprentice, but was immedi- 
ately taken into the service of the company. He soon contrived 
to make himself conspicuous, especially in leading attacks on 
the Indians on Staten Island and elsewhere. 

The earliest mention of the name in the records occurs in 1680, 
when Abraham Lakeman is said to have owned a parcel of 
woodland on the south of the Fresh kill. About this time there 
were several of the name on the island — Abraham, mentioned 
above, whose name is found again on the records in 1684 and 
1692; Lewis, who was defendant in a suit July 6, 1681; and 
Peter, who sold land in 1684. These three probably were 
brothers. There was an Isaac, iierhaps a son of one of the 
the above, of whom we only know that his wife was Catharine 
Christopher, and that they had a son Lewis, baptized May 23, 
1731. 

Abraham, and Elizabeth his wife, had two daughters born — 
Sarah in 1762, and Margaret in 1767, and a son Abraham, born 
April 4, 1772. Isaac and his wife Martha had the following sons: 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 553 

David, born January 26, 1768; Jacob, born July 21, 1771, and 
Joseph, born October 7, 1775. William and Mary, liis wife, had 
a dano-hter Sarah, born October 4, 1772. Isaac and Margaret, 
his wife, had a son William, born November 24, 1772. There 
was another Isaac, born 1758, and died May 1, 1814. Samuel 
and Catharine Crowal were married March 16, 1790. Nathaniel 
made his will December 12, 1795, proved May 24, 1803, in which 
he mentions his wife Martha, his daughter Susanna, and his 
sons Isaac and John. This family is also gradually dying 
out. 

Manee.— Originally written Manez. This is a Westfield 
family concerning which the notices, in either county or church 
records, are exceedingly meager. We have found but few 
shreds of its history. Peter and Mary Brooks, his wife, had a 
daughter baptized August 8, 1725. Abraham and Anna Jansen, 
his wife, had a son Abraham, baptized May 26, 1723. Abra- 
ham and Sarah du Chesne had a daughter Sarah, baptized 
March 30, 1740. Abraham had a son Isaac, baptized May 15, 
1790. Peter and Mary Pryor were married January 4, 1804. 

William and Elizabeth Prier were married April , 1808. 

Abraham and Mary Woglom were married October 8, 1808. 
Isaac made his will May 14, 1794, proved July 18, 1794, in 
which he speaks of his brothers Abraham and Peter, and 
sister Hannah Prior. His will is dated on the day of his death, 
at which time he was 46 years old. 

James M. Manee. — The progenitor of the Mauee family on 
Staten Island was Peter Manee, who, on his emigration, ob- 
tained a patent for the land on which he settled on the island. 
His son, Abram, was united in marriage to a Miss Johnson. 
Their children were: Peter, Abi'am, William, Isaac, Jacob, 
Deborah (who became Mrs. Edwai-d Wier), and Ann, who never 
married. William Manee, who was born in 1788 and died in 
1828, married Elizabeth Prier, of Westheld township, and had 
children: Lydia (Mrs. Louis Androuvatt), Susan (Mrs. Charles 
Androuvatt), Elizabeth (Mrs. Abraham Latourett), Catherine 
(Mrs. Israel La Foi'ge), Lany (Mrs. James Totten), Mary (Mrs. 
Cornelius Cole), Elsie (Mrs. John Latourett), and three sons: 
William, married to Elizabeth Bedell, James M. and Abram, 
whose wife was Emeline Latourett. James M. Manee was 
born February 14, 1819, at Woodrow, Westfield township, and 
removed with his parents to Pleasant Plains when but eight 



554 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

years of age. His attention having been early directed to farm- 
ing, this employment was continued until 1844, when he em- 
barked in oyster planting near his home at Prince's bay. Find- 
ing this both a congenial and lucrative pursuit, his capital has 
never been directed in other channels. Mr. Manee was on the 
lltli of December, 1839, married to Catherine, daughter of 
Nicholas La Forge, of Staten Island. Their children are: Ellen 
L., wife of David M. Ryder; James, deceased; William W., 
now a resident of Indiana; Mary Jane, wife of Francis A. Legget, 
and Nicholas, deceased. Mr. Manee, as a whig and later as a 
republican, was formerly active in the arena of politics. Aside 
from the office of assessor of the township he has declined all 
jiroffers of official position. He is identified with the Bethel 
Methodist Episcopal church in which he filled the office of 
steward, and is still a zealous worker. 

Martling. — This name is not met with at a very early date: 
when its connection with the island began is unknown; the 
earliest mention of the family in our local records is in 1724, 
when Isaac Martling and Anna Van Name, his wife, had a 
daughter batized January 10; a son John, January 21, 1731, a 
Barent Martling being present as a sponsor. He died in in- 
fancy. 

M.\ETiNO.— Gaston Martineau, a surgeon of Dieppe, settled 
in England in 1685, and was a French refugee. He had several 
sons, whose descendants still reside in England, and many of 
them are distinguished. The family in America is a collateral 
branch, and were in this country and on the island before Gas- 
ton left France. We find the name of Francis in our county 
records as defendant in a suit with Jaques Jeyoung in 1681, 
and as selling land in 1691. Francisco Martino received a pat- 
ent from Governor Dongan for land in Richmond county in 
1686. 

Stephen was born in 1727, and died May 9, 1801; he owned and 
resided on the property known now as the Poor House farm. 
He was one of the corj^orators of the Moravian church. Ben- 
jamin, brother of Stephen, was born in 1742, and died May 17, 
1724. Benjamin, son of above, was born April 4, 1766, and died 
November 20, 1814. He was father of Gabriel Martino, of 
Four Corners. 

Stephen was father of Gabriel Martino, of Bull's Head. 





^^ i^C^i^^^.e.,:_ 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 555 

Merrill. — This family have descended from Richard Merrill 
and Sarah Wells, his wife, natives of Warwickshire, England, 
who emigrated to America about the year 1675 and settled on 
Staten Island. As their family was the only one of the name 
on the island, they had among their children the following sons: 
William, Richard, Thomas, Philip and perhaps John, for we 
find in the Albany records the name of William as owning land 
on Staten Island in 1683 ; Philip bought land of Richard 
(father or brother ?) in 1711. 

Richard married Elsie Doi'lant, and had the following chil- 
dren: Richard, baptized September 22, 1709, who died young; 
Elsie, baptized April 1, 1708, by Dominie Freeman; Richard, 
baptized 1715; Lambert, baptized January 1, 1721, and Susanna, 
baptized September 13, 1724. Philip and Elizabeth Bakker 
(Baker), his wife, had the following children: Catherine and 
Susanna, twins, baptized July 4, 1725; Philip, baptized Febru- 
ary 24, 1727; Nicholas, baptized November 24, 1728; Elisabet, 
baptized Aprils, 1733, and Neelrje (Cornelia) baptized March 9, 
1735. Thomas and Jenne Gewan had a son Richard — no date of 
baptism. John and Gertrude Simonson had a daughter, bap- 
tized September 18, 1726. Of the descendants of William we 
have no account. 

The above are the children and grandchildren of the original 
pair, so far as the church i-ecords throw anj' light upon the mat- 
ter. Richard, son of Thomas, had the following children: 
Margaretta, baptized January 1, 1738, and Annatje (Anna\ bap- 
tized April 19, 1743; no others mentioned. Jan and Aeltje 
(Alida) Bennet had a son Simon, and a daughter baptized on 
the same day. May 6, 1745. Thomas and Eva Jones had a 
daughter baptized October 31, 1756. This Thomas made his will 
December 31, 1791, proved April 30, 1803, in which he mentions 
his wife Eva and his sons John, Thomas and Matthew. John, 
son of Thomas and Eva (known in the family as Honnis), was 
born in 1742, and died December 19, 1826. His wife's name was 
Charity. Thomas (known as " Sawmill Thomas"), son of John 
and Eva, had a son John, baptized August 17, 1788. 

There was a John, Jr., who had a daughter, baptized No- 
vember 7, 1790, and John Y., who was born in 1770, and died 
June 6, 1858, but they are probably distinct persons; John, 
Jr., more probably was the son of Joseph and Martha, and was 
born April 4, 1765. Joseph also had a daughter Mary, born 



556 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

January 16, 1763. John and Ann his wife had a daughter bap- 
tized November 7, 1753. Lambert (son of Richard and Elsie) 
and Tabitha, had a son Richard, born July 9, 1765; a son Jon- 
athan, born May 24, 1774; a daughter Tabitha, born February 
18, 1770, who married Capt. John W. Blake, and died January 
12, 1861, aged nearly 91 years; also a daughter Elsie, born 1768, 
married John Hillyer 1785, and was the mother of Hon. Law- 
rence Hillyer and Hon. John B. Hillyer. 

William and Ann Meri'ill were married in August, 1776; 
Abraham and Ann Merrill were married October 3, 1790; Mary, 

widow of Merrill, made her will January 10, 1789, proved 

November 30, 1789; reference has been made to this will before, 
and the bequest made to her daughter Mary, the wife of Na- 
thaniel Robins. 

The familj' was once numerous, and have largely intermarried 
with other families of the island. The i3ro]3erty belonging to 
them in Northfield was extensive, and a part of it is still in the 
possession of some of them. The public road known as Lam- 
bert's lane, leading to Watch ogne, was named from Lambert 
Merrill, mentioned above. 

Mersereau. — John Mersereau was a native of France, and a 
Protestant. In his youth he was possessed of extraordinary 
physical strength. He studied law, but disliking the confine- 
ment of study, he learned the trade of a saddler, which he sub- 
sequently carried on extensively. He died young, and left 
three sons — Joshua, Paul and Daniel — and two daughters, 
Mary and Martha. These children, with their mother, fled 
from France to England in 1685, immediate]}^ after the Revoca- 
tion, and subsequently all except Paul continued their flight 
to America. They had intended to settle at Philadelphia, but 
they were driven to New York by stress of weather. They 
settled on Stateu Island, where their mother died, and was 
buried in the French church yard (on the Seaman farm. West- 
field). 

Daniel was a tailor; Joshua married a Latourette, and died 
May 23, 1756, aged over 93 years. They had a son Joshua, 
who was born May 18, 1696, and died July 9, 1769; his wife was 
Maria Corsen (sometimes written Mary), daughter of Jacob 
Corsen; she was born October 24, 1704, and died July 3, 1763. 
Their children were : Joshua, born September 26, 1728, died 
June 10, 1804; Jacob, born April 23, 1730, died September 7, 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 557 

1804; Jolm, born March 2, 1732, died ; Elizabeth, born Jan- 
uary 4, 1734, died in infancy; David, born November 10, 1735, 

died July 19, 1763; Mary, born January 14, 1738, died ; 

Cornelius, born July 27, 1739, died July 27, 1814; Paul, born 
B'ebruary 23, 1741, died January 26, 1823; Elizabeth, born No- 
vember 26, 1742, died ; Eachel, born February 27, 1746, 

died July, 1769. 

Jacob made his will July 16, 1804, proved September 18, 
1804, in which he speaks of his wife Charity, and his children 
John, and Mary, wife of Thomas Cubberly; Elizabeth, wife of 
Daniel De Hart; Sophia, wife of John Crocheron; Jacob, David, 
and Peter. He was the Col. Jacob Mersereau whose escape 
from the British during the revolution is alluded to elsewhere. 
His son Jacob was the father of Johh T. and Alfred Mersereau, 
of Graniteville. His son Peter, born in 1788, was member of 
assembly in 1845. Col. Jacob had also a son John by his first 
marriage, who married a Cruser, and lived in an old stone house, 
on the turn of the road west of the Snug Harbor, and was 
father-in-law to the late Judge Abraham Crocheron. 

Paul, son of Joshua and Maria Corsen, married Elizabetli 
Barnes, born April 21, 1751, died May 26, 1833. Their children 
were : Joshua, born February 7, 1773, died March 7, 1847; 
Nancy, born April 4, 1775, died November 30, 1851; Mary, 
born February 2, 1777, died June 6, 1858; Elizabeth, born June 
20, 1779, died May 8, 1S.')5; Rachel, born June 30, 1781, died 
February 23, 1863; Paul, born March 14, 1784, died July 21, 
1856; Margaret, born March 27, 1787; Gertrude, born November 
30, 1789. 

Joshua, son of Paul and Elizabeth, married Deborah Britton, 
January 7, 1801. She was born August 4, 1782, and died 
March 26, 1840. Their children were : Nathaniel, born October 
18, 1802, died in infancy; Paul, born September 20, 1804; 

Mary, born January 29, 1807; twins, born January 19, 

1810; Cornelius, born May 12, 1811; Joshua, born January 28, 
1814; Elsey, born August 30. 1817, deceased; Elizabeth, born 
May 5, 1820, deceased; Debora, born April 7, 1823; John, born 
May 28, 1826, died in infancy, and Margaret. 

Thus far we have traced but one branch of the family; what 
notices we have found in the public records, of other branches, 
we give indiscriminately. 

There was a John mentioned in the county records in 1730; 



558 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

lie was probably the same with Jean, whose wife's name was 
Craage; they had a son Joshua baptized February, 1731, and 
subsequently a son Daniel. This Daniel married Cornelia Van- 
derbilt, and had a son John, baptized March 4. 1859. Etienne 
(Stephen) and Ann Mitchell had a son Daniel baptized, no date; 
a daughter January 1, 1735, and a son named Richard, May. 1740. 
There was a Joshua who had a son Harmanus baptized Jane 
8, 1788. There was a Paul here as early as 1728, sponsor at a 
baptism. Peter and Rebecca his wife had the following children: 
Sarah, born March 23, 1769; Daniel, born August 27, 1771, died 
July 10, 1855, and John, baptized November, 1775. Peter died 
June 16, 1803, born 1734. There was a John born December, 
1737, died July 30, 1811. John and Charity had a son John 
born April 13, 1757; son Lawrence March 28, 1761. Paul and 
Frances had a son John born May 2, 1759. Stephen and Lydia 
had the following children: Sarah, burn September 8, 1766; 
Daniel, born December 6, 1768, and Stephen, born February 
14, 1774. Joshua and Mary had: Stephen, born May 5, 1770; 
and Joshua, baptized September 6. 1772. Daniel and Susan had 
a daughter Ann baptized July 6, 1789. Daniel and Ann had a 
daughter Cornelia baptized June 26, 1791. Henry and Eliza La- 
forge were married September 6, 1790. Jacob and Mary Croch- 
eron were married Septembers, 1798. Daniel and Alida Lake 
were married October 6, 1798. Daniel and Eliza Winant were 
married February 8, 1800. Stephen and Lanali (Helen) Winant 
were married November 21, 1802. John and Ann Parlee were 
married December 31, 1803. Joshua and Susannah Story were 
married December 10, 1805. Pnter Mersereau made his will 
May 6, 1800 (proved July 25. 1803) in which he alludes to his 
wife without naming her, and mentions his children Elizabeth, 
Rebecca, Catharine, Ann, Sarah, Daniel and William. 

Among the prominent citizens of Staten Lshind of the past, 
may be mentioned the late David Mersereau, Esq. He was born 
about the year 1769, and died in Api'il, 1835, aged sixty-six 
years. His remains lie in the burial ground of the Reformed 
church at Port Richmond Early in life he married Cwnelia, 
the daughter of Abraham Rolf, who owned i^roperty in New 
Brighton, through the middle of which the public road called 
Burger avenue now runs. Shortly after his marriage he re- 
moved to Currituck, Virginia, where he opened a store, which, 
under the management of his wife, proved a success, Mr. Mer- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 559 

sereau himself being occupied with other pursuits. He re- 
mained at the South several years. On his return north, he and 
his family embarked on a small schooner, encountered a violent 
storm, which capsized the vessel, and all except Mr. Mersereau 
were drowned. For forty-eight hours he clung to his precarious 
support on the keel of the capsized vessel, until a passing 
Philadelphia vessel rescued him. 

In November, 1779, he purchased of his father-in-law Rolf 
the property above mentioned, containing one hundred and 
forty acres. The farm house, built by the father of Mr. Rolf, 
stood near the site of the present mansion house of Mrs. De- 
ment, and after the fashion of the day was constructed of stone, 
long and low. 

On this farm Mr. Mersereau built a tannery, which he placed 
under the superintendency of Stephen Wood. The tanner" s 
house stood on, or very near the site of the residence of A. W. 
Sexton, and the remains of the vats were visible until recently. 
Mr. Mersereau' s second wife was Maria Bennett of Long Island, 
a sister of the wife of the late Rev. P. I. Van Pelt, D. D. By 
her he had but one child, a daughter, who married Henry F. 
Heberton, Esq., of Philadelphia, and they were the parents of 
Mrs. C. J. Good and her sister, Mrs. Curry, of Port Rich- 
mond. 

Besides the farm already mentioned, Mr. Mersereau was the 
owner of several large and valuable parcels of real estate. At 
one time he owned all those lots lying between the Mill road 
and the pond, and extending from the Shore road to the Post 
fann. He also owned the mill afterward known as Bodine's 
mill, and the property adjacent; he built another mill at the 
termination of the Old Place road; the two brick houses on the 
Shore road. Port Richmond, were built by In'd Ryers for his 
two daughters and subsequently bought by Mr. Mersereau, who 
lived and died in one and sold the other to Dr. Van Pelt. They 
are now owned by Owen and Edward McSorley, who occupy 
them. In connection with this house he owned thirty acres 
of land which his executors sold to Peter N. and Eder V. 
Haughwout, and which now constitutes an important and beau- 
tiful portion of the village of Port Richmond. The large building 
usually known as the Port Richmond or Continental hotel, at one 
time belonged to him; it is still in the family, being now owned 
by Mrs. C. J. Good. From the wharf in front of this hotel, 



560 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

John Ryei's ran a feri-y boat to New York, fare 25 cents. John 
Hilleker, who built the house next east of the brick house oc- 
cuijied by Mr. Mensereau, built a wharf nearly opposite his 
residence, the remains of which are still to be seen, from 
which he ran an opposition ferry, fare eighteen cents. Mi'. Mer- 
sereau bought both of these ferries, and ran his boats from the old 
wharf. At the time Ryers ran his ferry, the place was known 
as "Ryers' Ferry;" after the change of owners it was called 
"Mersereau's Ferry," by which name it was known until that 
of Port Richmond supplanted it. 

Mr. Mersereau was member of assembly from this county 
in 1807, 1808 and 1809, supervisor of Northtield in 1815, and 
for many years one of the judges of the court of common 
pleas. 

Metcalfe. — Though not among the oldest, this family is 
among the most prominent ones of the county. Simon, the 
progenitor of the family on Staten Island, came from England 
in 1765, and settled in New York city, and was subsequently 
appointed deputy surveyor of the colony. He left his son 
George in England to be educated, until he was 17 years of age, 
when he joined his father in this country. After studying law, 
George resided at Albany for a time, then went to Johnstown, 
Fulton county, N. Y. He married the daughter of Commodore 
Silas Talbot. In 1796 Gov. John Jay appointed him assistant 
attorney-general, which office he held until 1811. He then re- 
moved to New York, where he practiced law until 1816, when 
he removed to Staten Island, and in 1818, when the office of 
district attorney was made a county office, he was appointed to 
perform its duties. He died in 1826. His children were Maria, 
who manned William S. Root, of Tompkinsville; Silas Talbot; 
Simon; Catharine, who was the first wife of John B. Simonson; 
Henry Bleecker; Georgiana, who married Daniel Fenn, of Mas- 
sachusetts, and Louisa, twins, and George. 

Henry Bl-eecker was born January 20, 1805, studied law with 
his father, and was admitted to the bar in 1826. The same year 
he was appointed district attorney for Richmond county, which 
office he held until 1833. In 1840 he was appointed a county 
judge, and the same year United States boarding officer at quar- 
antine, in the revenue department, which place he occupied un- 
til 1843. In 1847 he was elected county judge and surrogate, 
the two offices having been united, and re-elected from time to 




<.V,-\Q-\'<?^. \. %\\.^%'\Vi'\. >v. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 561 

time until near the close of 1875, at the end of which year he 
would have been leo;allj' disqualified by age, but he resigned to 
take his seat as member of congress, to which he had been 
elected as representative of the First congressional district. He 
died at his home on Staten Island, February 7, 1881. 

Nicholas C. Miller. — Prominent among the aggressive cit- 
izens of the village of Port Richmond is Nicholas C. Miller, who 
was born in New York city November 9, 1838. His ancestors 
were among the original Dutch settlers of Manhattan island and 
the i)laces in its vicinity. After receiving a good education Mr. 
Miller began business in the dry goods trade, entering first the 
employ of Burr, Griffith & White, at 61 Cedar street, and after- 
ward that of Spaulding, Vail & Fuller and their successors. In 
January, 1864, he began his career as an insurance man by ac- 
cepting the casbiership of the International Insurance Company. 
During the same year he assisted in the organization of the 
Star Fire Insurance Company, becoming its secretary, and after- 
ward, from 1868, till the present time, its president. 

Rapidly familiai'izing himself with the technical management 
of lire underwriting, Mr. Miller acquired ere long a broad and 
practical knowledge of its principles. He was made secretary 
of the committee on rates and surveys of the New York Board 
of Fire Underwriters, and in that capacity rendered important 
services previous to and during the trying times of the great 
Chicago and Boston fires. For two years he was the efficient 
president of the board. On retiring from that position in 1886, 
Mr. Miller was tendered by his associates in the board of 
underwriters a highly complimentary testimonial to his value 
as an officer and the esteem with which he was regarded as a 
man. 

In June, 1885, Mr. Miller was elected a trustee of the Mutual 
Life Insurance Company of New York city, and has since that 
time constantly taken an active part in promoting its interests. 
He is also connected as a director with several corporate enter- 
prises in New York, Staten Island and Chicago, among them 
the North River Bank of New York city and the First National 
Bank of Staten Island. He is business-like by habit and cour- 
teous in manner, familiar with the progress of the country both 
east and west, and cultured by travel abroad. He possesses an 
experience in affairs and a knowledge of men most valuable to 
an enterprising American. 
36 



562 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Since I860 Mr. Miller has been a resident of Richmond 
county, in the affairs of which he lias been deeply interested. 
He is a member of the Reformed church of Port Richmond and 
is well known in the social life of Staten Island. He married 
Miss Emma Crojjsey, daughter of Jacob R. Cropsey, and they 
have four children, three of whom reside with their parents. 

Morgan. — This family was on Staten Island at an early date, 
but the notices of them in the records are very few. Thomas 
Morgan was a member of the colonial assembly from this county 
in 1692. This is the first occurrence of the name in the county 
records. His name occurs again in the Dutch church records 
as having a son Abraham, baptized May 5, 1696. and a daugh- 
ter Martha, September 7, 1698. 

Thomas (probably a son of the former) and Magdalena Staats, 
his wife, had the following children : Elisabet, baptized Febru- 
ary 7, 1725; Magdalena, baptized February 12, 1727; Pieter, 
baptized March 9, 1729; Thomas, baptized October 10, 1731; and 
Sarah, baptized September 16, 1739. 

The name does not again appear until December 16, 1754, 
when William Morgan and Elizabeth Winter were married. It 
is pi'obable that William was the son of Pieter mentioned above, 
though not certain. William had a son John, who lived and 
died in the vicinity of Xew Springville. Among his children 
was a son Charles, who married a Vroom, and they were the 
parents of Mr. Henry C, of Travisville, and his brother, the 
late John Vroom, of Mariners' Harbor. 



CHAPTER XII. 



OLD FAMILIES AND PROMINENT INDIVIDUALS (Concluded). 



Ferine. — Poillon. — Post. — Frail. — Aquila Rich. — Alfred Z. Ross. — Ryerss. — 
Seguine.— John G. Seguine. — Henrv S. Seguine. — Sharrott. — Francis G. 
Shaw. — Simonson. — Stilwell. — Sprague. — Taylor. — Totten. — Epraim J. Tot- 
ten. — Tyson. — Van Buskirk, Van Duzer. — John H. Van Clief. — The V'ander- 
bilts.— The Van Name Family.— Van Pelt.— Waudel.— Albert Ward.— 
Stephen AVhitraan. — Winant. — Garrett Ellis Winants. — -Woglom. — Wood. — 
Abraham C. Wood. — Jacob B. Wood. — Abraham J. Wood. — Other Families. 
— Eminent Men and Women of .Staten Island. 



Peri:n^e. — The original orthography of the name was Perrin. 
Count Perrin was a Huguenot refugee from Nouere; the Ameri- 
can family are not descended from him, but the original emi- 
grant was akin to him. The first occurrence of the name in 
this county was in 1687, when Daniel Perine sold land, and he 
was probably the progenitor of the Perines of the present day. 
Like many other old families in the county they have a family 
record, bnt very imj^erfect, except, perhaps, for the last two or 
three generations. The branch which we are able to trace, lived 
for a century and a half, or more, in the same house, which is 
still standing, and occupied by them, on the Richmond road, a 
short distance north of Garrison's station, on the Staten Island 
railroad. It is probably the oldest dwelling house in the 
county occupied by the family who built it. 

Cornelius S. and Joseph E. are the sons of Simon S., who 
was the son of Joseph, born June 4, 1759, died April 16th, 
1814. Joseph's brothers were Edward, born July 6, 1766, and 
Henry, born November 29, 1768, and married Mary Winant, 
June 21, 1795 ; they were the parents of Mrs. Elizabeth, relict 
of the late Richard Tysen, Esq. Joseph's parents were Edward 
and Ann ; Edward died during the revolution. We are unable 
to trace the pedigree of any branch of the famih- beyond Ed- 
ward, with any degree of certainty. Probably Edward was the 
son, possibly the grandson of Daniel, whom we suppose to be 
the original. 



564 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

In addition to the above, tlie following are found on the 
county and church records, on tomb stones, etc. Henry and 
Susannah his wife had a son Edward, born February 19, 1758 ; 
a son Peter, born May 22, 1764. Henry made his will April 
10, 1788, which was proved June 7, 1788, in which he mentions 
his wife Susannah and his children, David and Cornelius, then 
minors, and his other children, Edward, Margai'et and Susan- 
nah, Abraham, Henry, Nancy and Mary. This younger Henry 
was a weaver, and made his will October 29, 1792, which was 
proved April 2, 1793, in which he speaks of his brothers, David, 
Cornelius and Edward, but alludes to no wife nor children. 
Henry and Ann his wife had a son Abraham, born February 1, 
1766. Henry and Hannah his wife had a son Henry born June 

5, 1767. James and Nannie had a daughter Sophia, born July 
17, 1767. William and Miranda his wife had a son Peter, bap- 
tized J une 27, 1790. Edward and Patience Mersereau were mar- 
ried June 7, 1790, and had a daughter Mary, born October 9, 
1790. Abraham and Sarah Rezeau were married August 24, 
1790, and had a son Peter Rezeau, born September 20, 1791. 
Peter and Mary Bedell were married December 31, 1788. Ed- 
ward and Adriar Guyon were married January 20, 179] . Henry 
and Magdelena Simonson were married June 19, 1800. Corne- 
lius and Mary McLean were married March 31, 1804. Edward, 
born in 1745, died November 22, 1818. James G., born August 
29, 1796, died September 17, 1833. There was a Peter, living in 
1766, and a Henry in 1767, who were interested in the purchase 
or sale of land. 

PoiLLON. — The first mention of the name found was in connec- 
tion with Staten Island when Jaques Poullion was appointed a 
justice for Richmond county, December 14, 1689, by Leisler. 
The family were very numerous. Jaques is frequently men- 
tioned as buj'ing or selling land prior to 1703. After him we 
have no notice of any member of the family for half a century; 
then John and Margaret, his wife, had sons: John, born June 6, 
1753; Peter, born January 27, 1763, and James, baptized No- 
vember 3, 1772. James and Frances, his wife, had a son John, 
baptized November 14, 1762. Peter and Margaret, his wife, had 
a son John, born October 28, 1770, and a son Peter, born March 

6, 1772. This Peter was a communicant in St. Andrew's church, 
1792, after his father's death. Abraham and Susan Cole mar- 
ried June 17, 1790; he died young. John and Elizabeth Seguine 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 565 

married July 5, 1792. Abrahan] made his will July 20, 1791, 
proved August 8, 1791, in which he mentions his wife Susan, 
and his son Peter, a minor. John, named above, made his will 
March 16, 1802, proved February 18, 1803; mentions his wife 
Margaret, his daughters Mary, Margaret, Ann, Sarah and 
Catharine, and his sons Peter, John and James, deceased. There 
were three or four Johns, but they had all disappeared many 
years ago. 

Post. — Adrian Post, who was, without doubt, the progenitor 
of the family on Staten Island, was commander of a ship which 
brought emigrants to the colony before 1650. He was subse- 
quently the superintendent of Baron Van deCappelan's planta- 
tion on the island. The Indian massacre of 1655 drove him 
temporarily from tlie island, but he soon returned, and resitmed 
his residence there. His family consisted of his wife, live chil- 
dren and two servants. John, who was probably a grandson of 
Adrian, married Anna Housman, and they had the following 
sons baptized: Abraham, April 19, 1743, and Adrian, April 26, 
1748. Garret and Sarah Ellis had the following sons baptized: 
Garret, August 7, 1754, and Abraham, March 12, 1758. Abra- 
ham had a daughter Miriam, born July 31, 1790. There was 
another Garret, born in 1720 and died March 31, 1797. 

Prall. — The later representatives of the family are Hon. 
Benjamin P. Prall, of Huguenot, Westfield, and his brother 
Captain Arthur Prall, of New Springville, Northtield. Their 
father was Peter Prall, born 1763 and died November 1, 1822; 
his father was Benjamin Prall, born 1733 and died 1796; his 
father was Abraham Prall, born 1706 and died September 28, 
1775; his father was Peter Prall, whose name we find recorded 
as a witness or sponsor at a baptism in 1708; he had an older 
son than Abraham, viz.: Arent, born 1698, and a younger, Isaac, 
born 1710. Tliis brings us very near or quite to the original of 
the family. There was, however, an Arent Prall, who probably 
was either father or brother of the last mentioned Peter. We 
find his (Arent' s) name on record as owning one hundred and 
twenty acres of land on Long Neck in 1694. 

Other members of the family, not in the above line, were 
Peter, born April 9, 1735, and died February 28, 1822, and his 
brother Abraham, born 1740, died May 6, 1820. He had two sons, 
viz.: Daniel, drowned October 10, 1817, and Ichabod, a merchant 



566 HISTORY OF RICiniOND COUKTY. 

in New York; Daniel married Ann Mersereau January 22, 
1794. 

Scattered tlirough various records we find the following, 
whom we are unable to place, viz.: Aron, Jr., and his wife 
Antye Staats, had a daughter born May 21, 1715; a son Aron 
in 1717; a daughter in 1719, and a son Peter in 1724. Aron, or 
Arent (not Jr.) and his wife Maritje Bowman had a son William 
Joris, born 1730, and a son Hendrick born 1735. Isaac (prob- 
ably the son of Abraham above mentioned) and his wife Maria 
Debaa or Dubois, had a daughter born in 1746, and another in 
1748; a son Peter in 1744, and a son Lewis in 1751. Benjamin 
and his wife Sarah Swaim had a son Abraham born in 1752, and 
a son John in 1766. John (wife's name not given) had a daughter 
born in 1719. Abraham and Sarah Cannon were married 
in August, 1776. John and Martha Latourette were married 
January 14, 1802. There was a Wolford Praule, who was a 
freeholder as early as 1695, but he was not probably connected 
with this family, as his name was spelled differently, and there is 
no further notice of him. 

Aquila Rich. — Prominent among New York business men 
residing on Staten Island is Mr. Aquila Rich, of the well known 
firm of C. T Raynolds & Co. Mr. Rich's ancestors were among 
the first New England settlers, and many interesting facts con- 
cerning them are contained in the " History of Cape Cod." 
The family coat of arms is still preserved and a copy is now in 
Mr. Rich's possession. His grandfather, after whom he is 
named, was a sea captain and shipowner, and twice suffered im 
prisonment for his loyalty to the American cause. During the 
revolutionary war he was captured by the British and confined 
in Dartmore prison, England, for three years, and in the war 
of 1812 both himself and his ship were taken while in the act 
of running the blockade. He was retained in Halifax as a 
prisoner of war and died there on the day upon which he was 
to have been exchanged. Mr. Rich's father, who is still living, 
and who resides at Waltham, Mass., was for many years an 
active New England merchant and manufacturer, and it is from 
him that Mr. Rich inherits his energetic and persevering quali- 
ties. In youth he was apprenticed to a silversmith, became a 
manufacturing chemist at Boston, Mass., and finally a glue 
manufacturer at Woburn in the same state. It has been his 
misfortune to suffer from blindness during the past few years. 




L\c\nacL / itch 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 567 

Aquila, of whom we write, was born in Boston, March 23, 
1885. He attended the " Hawes " public school In South Boston, 
from which he o;raduated in 1850. At the age of fifteen lie was 
ajiprenticed in the old English style to the wholesale drug house 
of Brewers, Stevens & Gushing, sign of the good Samaritan, 
Washington street, Boston, where he remained four years. At 
the expiration of that period he received a flattering offer from 
a cousin doing business in Xew York city and came thither, but 
the unsuccessful termination of his cousin's enterprise a year 
later left him without a position, and his tastes leading him in 
that direction he decided to follow the sea, which he did in sev- 
eral capacities till 1859. He then entered the employ of Ray- 
nolds, Devoe & Pratt, dealers in paints, oils and artists' ma- 
terials at Nos. 106 and 1U8 Fulton street, Xew York city. Here 
he remained as a clerk for twelve years, after which he became 
a member of the firm, much of its subsequent success being due 
to his clear head and business ability. Since he entered the 
house in 1859 the firm name has twice changed; first to Raj'- 
nolds, Pratt & Co. and later to C. T. Raynolds & Co., as it is at 
present known. The influence of the house in the business 
world is far-reaching and powerful, and its policy is character- 
ized by careful integrity and honorable dealing in all its vast 
transactions. 

In' 1871 Mr. Rich removed to Staten Island, where he pur- 
chased his present residence and where he has since acquired 
other property. He early connected himself with Christ church, 
in which he has served for many years as vestrjauan and of 
which for the last three years he has been treasurer. He is a 
life member of Beacon Light Lodge No. 701, F. & A. M., of 
New Brighton. In 1885 he w^as appointed Deputy Grand Master 
of the order for Richmond county and was reappointed the 
following year. He is also a life member of the " Staten Island 
Athletic Club." For several years he has been a trustee of the 
Smith Infirmary, and has served for five years as treasurer of 
the committee and manager of the annual charity ball held in aid 
of that institution. He is also a member of the building com- 
mittee. 

Though in no sense of the word a politician he has been a 
strong republican, and as snch twice elected to the county con- 
vention, on both of which occasions Mr. George William Curtis 
was chosen as delegate to the national convention. Both of 



568 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

these elections were simple tributes to the trustworthiness which 
is his prevailing characteristic, and were not brought about 
either directlj' or indirectly through his instrumentality. 

Mr. Rich is whole souled and cordial. The varied travels and 
adventures, together with the extended business relations 
which have diversified his career, lend to his conversation a 
charm and vivacity which places all who are brought into con- 
tact with him, of whatever station in life, at their ease, and 
make their possessor a favorite in social circles. His simple 
but comfortable home partakes of a warmth which is the result 
of family love, jealously guarded by parents who understand 
the value both of religious and social training to their children. 

Mr. Rich married in June, 1861, Miss Beales, of Brooklyn. 
He has four children still living, a daughter Susie having died. 
The remaining children are: Harvey B., who is a member of the 
New York Stock Exchange and one of the well known firm of 
Horace L. Hotchkiss & Co., brokers; Aquila B., Seton Heather 
and Clara O., all residents of Richmond county. 

Alfred Z. Ross, for many years prominent in real estate 
and business circles in Richmond county, is the son of John 
Ross, formerly a resident of Staten Island. John Ross (Scotch) 
married Miss Sarah P. Zeluff, of an old Staten Island familj' 
(German), and of their two children Alfred was the second. 
He was born at Port Richmond July 26, 1844. During his 
youth he attended the private academy of Theodore A. Thomp- 
son, from which he entered the Ashland Seminary at Ashland, 
Greene county, N. Y. Subsequently he studied in the public 
school in Port Richmond, leaving it at the age of seventeen, to 
engage in sail-making. He continued this till 1867, when he 
became a clerk in the employ of Barrett, NejihewsA Co., dyers, 
where he remained till 1874. In November of that year he em- 
barked in the real estate business at Port Richmond, in which he 
still remains. Mr. Ross, by care in the management of his con- 
cerns and the practice of thorough integrity in all his transac- 
tions, has won for himself an enviable reputation among business 
men as well as a sound financial success. He combines with the 
real estate an extensive insurance business, being the represen- 
tative of several companies both at home and abroad. 

Mr. Ross has also been prominent in the politics of Rich- 
mond county. During the year 1879 he represented the town 
of Northfield in the board of supervisors in such a manner as 




V»^<1\'<»1, I. «M«i^WT, », ■<. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 569 

to win the commendation of thinking men of both parties, and 
his long attacliment to the republican party entitles him to 
a prominent place in its ranks. His genial temperament and 
thorough business qualities are constantly winning for him the 
esteem of all with whom he is brought into contact. He was 
married June 2d, 1867, to Sarah E., daughter of Captain Garrett 
P. Johnson. 

Ryekss. — We find this name at an early date on Long Is- 
land. Arie Ryerse and Maerte Ryerse were assessed as owners 
of property at Middelwout, now Platbush, in 1676, but when 
their connection with Staten Island began is unknown. Adrian 
was born in 1715, and died December 12, 1779; his wife was 
Hester Debaa (Dubois) ; their son Lewis was born December 7, 
1754, and died April 13, 1806. Axis, another son of Adrian, 
had a daughter baptized July 27, 1786, and a son David, bap- 
tized October 17, 1790. Gozen, also a son of Adrian, made his 
will October 21, 1800, proved January 13, 1802, in which he 
speaks of his son John P., and his daughter Margaret, his 
brother Lewis, and his grandsons Gozen Adrian Ryers, and 
Ryerss De Hart. He was an exceedingly obese man, and re- 
quired two ordinary chairs to sit upon; his wife was in the same 
condition. He was a wealthy man, and owned property in 
various parts of the county. In 1791 he became the owner of 
300 acres of land, in the eastern part of the state, which, when 
the line between New York and Massachusetts was finally de- 
termined, fell within the latter state. To compensate him for 
the loss of this land, the state of New York gave him a patent 
for 1,800 acres in Wilmington township, Essex county, which is 
known as Ryerss' grant to this day. He dwelt for many j^ears 
preceding his death at Port Richmond, in the large house 
known as the St. James Hotel. He was a very prominent and 
useful man. 

Seguine. — We ai-e obliged to be content with such informa- 
tion as can be found in the local records, the earliest of which 
is: Jean and Elizabeth Hooper had a son Jonas, baptized De- 
cember 12, 1725. Jaques and Lady Mambrut, daughter Sara, 
baptized March 3, 1728. A son Jean, baptized March 19, 1732. 
Jean and Jaques stood sponsors for each other's children; thej' 
were probably brothers. The above are from the records of the 
Dutch church ; the following are from those of St. Andrew's : 
James and Elsee, daughter Sara, born April, 1756 ; son James, 



570 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

born December 10, 1760. John and Sarah had the following 
children : Elisha, born May 31, 1760 ; James, baptized July IS, 
1762 ; and Henry, born February 4, 1764. Lawrence and Ann, 
daughter Sara, born April 2, 1761. James and Caty, son 
Stephen, born March 22, 1764 ; and son James, born April 5, 
1766. James made his will June 13, 1795, proved October 7, 
1795; mentions his wife Catharine and his children Barnt. Jo- 
seph, Frederick, John, Henry, Stephen and James. John and 
Rachel Mitchel were married in ^November, 1775. John and 
Margaretta, sons John, baptized October 24, 1790, and Henry, 
baptized October 27, 1793. James and Mary Giiyon, married 
June 30, 1791. Stephen and Susanna Poillon, married Novem- 
ber 8, 1792. Henry and Jane Garretson, married August 13, 
1800. Stephen and Margaret Guyon, married March 5, 1805. 

John G. Seguine was born June 14, 1805, on the family es- 
tate at Seguine's Point, Staten Island. His youth was unevent- 
ful, the neighboring country school absorbing so much of his 
time as was not devoted to farming. He continued to reside 
upon the homestead until his marriage and subsequent pur- 
chase of a farm at Prince's bay, near the light house, upon 
which he resided until Rossville became his home. 

Mr. Seguine was mariied February 15, 1830, to Harriet, 
daughter of Andre Mille, the lattei', who was of French extrac- 
tion, having been a soldier under Bonaparte. Their children 
are : Louise M., married to Henry S. Seguine ; Henry J., mar- 
ried to Phebe A. Vail ; John J., married to Cordelia Vail, and 
Andre, married to Catherine Jane Winant. Mr. Seguine hav- 
ing retired from active business life, now enjoys the repose and 
comfort which a career of industry has brought to him. He 
has never been attracted by the excitement or rewards of pub- 
lic life to enter the list as a candidate for office, though always 
loyal to the principles of democracy. He has been for many 
years a vestryman of St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal church 
at Richmond. The grandfather of Mr. Seguine was James Se- 
guine, whose son Henry married Jane, daughter of Judge John 
G. Garretson, of Staten Island. Their two sons were John G.. 
above mentioned, and Joseph H., who was both a farmer and 
manufacturer, and prominent as a leading citizen of the county. 

Henry Stewart Seguine.— The Seguine family, which has 
long been prominent in Westfield township, is of Huguenot 
antecedents. James Seguine, the father of Henry S., and the 




'■Xf.iyAKBitohic 



C^C^^^^^ 




^fe^ 




HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 571 

son of James Seguine, married Mary, daughter of Joseph Guion, 
of Staten Island, also descended from Huguenot stock. Their 
children were: Catherine, wife of John Cluion ; Joseph G., 
James G., James S. and Henry S. The last-named son was born 
near Annadale, on Staten Island, in 1812. The family residence 
being located here much of his youth was spent at this point. 
Joseph Ct. Seguine, his uncle, then resided at Rossville, where 
he founded the mercantile interest still successfully conducted, 
built the wharf, and engaged in x>ublic life as judge of the 
court of common pleas. His nephew, Henry S., became a mem- 
ber of his uncle's family, and ultimately inherited the estate, 
which included the business as also the mansion in which the 
family reside. He married January 7, 1857, Louise M., daughter 
of John G. and Harriet Seguine, of Staten Island. Their chil- 
dren are a son, Henry G., and a daughter, Harriet M. Mr. 
Seguine' s character and means gave him an inhuential position 
throughout the county. Jfotwithstanding, he possessed all those 
qualities calculated to endear him to men. In business transac- 
tions he was strictly honorable and upright, possessing a kindly 
nature and conferring substantial sympathy and aid when de- 
served. His charities were of the practical kind and calculated 
to bestow permanent aid as well as meet the present necessity. 
His convictions of right were decided and firm, and maintained 
with energy. No compromise was ever effected with wrong or 
injustice. Faithful as a friend and true to his woi-d, though a 
positive man, he viewed the faults of others with charity. 
Active and public-spirited as a citizen, his rarest pleasures 
were found within the circle of his own home, where his hospi- 
tality was dispensed with unsparing liberality. A member of 
St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal church of Rossville, of which 
he was warden, vestryman and treasurer, Mr. Seguine exempli- 
fied in daily life the creed he espoused. He was in the fullest 
sense of the term the Christian gentleman. His death occurred 
on the 2d of July, 1884. 

Sharrott.— Richard Sharet, the first of the name on Staten 
Island, according to the family traditions and records, was a 
Frenchman by birth, of Huguenot parentage, and for a short 
period after his emigration resided in New England. He came 
to Staten Island either just before or just after the commence- 
ment of the revolution. Here he married a woman of German 



572 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

parentage named Mary Heger. Their children were William, 
Richard, John, James, Susan and Mary. 

John married Mary Ann Burbank, October 9, 1789; their 
children were Peter (died February, 1875, aged 86), John, Jere- 
miah, Richard, Abraham, William Henry, Mary, Susan, Cath- 
arine, Eliza and Louisa, some of whom are still living. 

Francis George Siiaw was the oldest child of Robert Gould 
Shaw and Eliza Willard Parknian. His father was an eminent 
merchant of Boston, in which city Mr. Shaw was born on the 
23d of October, 1809. He was fitted for college at the Boston 
Latin school, and entered Harvard University in 1825. He left 
college in 1828, before his graduation, to enter his father's 
counting room, and engaged actively in business. In 1839 he 
passed a year in Europe, and he married in 1835 his cousin 
Sarah Blake Sturgis. In 1841, with health impaired by unre- 
mitting attention to business, Mr. Shaw withdrew from active 
participation in it and removed to West Roxbury, near to 
"Brook Farm," where an experiment in associative life in which 
he was interested had begun under the leadership of the Rev. 
George Ripley. After a few years his friends abandoned their 
enterprise. But although experiments in associative and co- 
operative life have been often failures: although benevolent and 
reformatory agencies, originating in kind hearts and keen intel- 
lects, have as yet little diminished the evils they seek to remove; 
and although the immediate outlook often seemed to him dis- 
couraging, Mr. Shaw never lost his faith in an ultimate happy 
future for the human race in this world. He rejected the 
familiar doctrines of political economy that brutalizing poverty, 
vice and crime are necessary as footholds in the march of prog- 
ress; that one portion of the race must be trodden under foot 
in order that another jiortion may advance, leaving no hope of 
compensation to the sufferers save in the future of another ex- 
istence. He believed that " the right of eminent domain" over 
land could be wisely carried much further than the law now aj)- 
plies it; and he held that it would yet be possible for societj^ 
without wronging any man, to secure to the use of all men the 
land, which is the only source from which man can derive his 
sustenance, and access to which is as necessary to his normal de- 
velopment as the air he breathes. 

In 1847 he left West Roxbury on account of Mrs. Shaw's 
health, and after living for more than three years upon the 




V^-Hi^-tVt, K. %\\.V.\\V,^\^ H. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 573 

north shore of Staten Island near the Sailor's Snug Harbor, he 
went again to Europe with his family. After four years he re- 
turned in 1855 to Staten Island where, in the same neighbor- 
hood to which he had tirst come, he resided until his death. 

Upon coming of age Mr. Shaw acted with the whigs in poli- 
tics, taking part in ward and other meetings until 1840. Mean- 
time the anti-slavery movement had begun, and interested him 
profoundly, so that he withdrew from the whig party and did 
not vote again upon national questions until 1856, when the re- 
publican party was formed, of which he was a liberal and active, 
but always an independent, member. He was one of the dele- 
gates from the island to the first republican convention in 1856, 
which nominated General Fremont, and he was deeply inter- 
ested in the election of that year and in that of 1860. Although 
not personally engaged in the war of the rebellion he was earn- 
estly devoted to the cause of the Union, giving freely of his 
time and labor, and counsel and money, and his only son, 
Robert Gould Shaw, fell in the assault upon Fort Wagner at 
the head of his regiment of colored troops. Without per- 
sonal political ambition, Mr. Shaw had the highest sense of 
public duty, and he was pre-eminently a public spirited citizen. 

While living at West Roxbury he was a member of the school 
committee and one of the overseers of the poor, a justice of the 
peace and president of the first common council of Roxbury 
when that town became a city. He was also foreman of the 
jury of Norfolk county which first proposed the establishment 
of the State Reform School for Massachusetts. During his resi- 
dence on Staten Island he was a trustee of the village in which 
he lived, a trustee of the Seaman's Retreat and of the S. R. 
Smith Infirmary, treasurer of the American Union of Associa- 
tionists and of the Sailor's Fund, president of the National 
Freedman's Relief Association and of the New York Branch of 
the Freedman's Union Commission, and connected with vari- 
ous local organizations. He was also a hereditary member of 
the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati. 

Bred a Unitarian under the preaching of the Reverend Di's. 
Channing and Parkman, Mr. Shaw, with his wife, shortly after 
their marriage, became a member of the Boston Society of the 
New Jerusalem, to which the Reverend Thomas Worcester 
then ministered. After his removal to West Roxbury he joined 
the congregation of the Reverend Theodore Parker. Subse- 



574 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

quently, during his sojourn in Rome, some of the Italian 
friends of his rlien recently deceased brother, Joseph Coolidiije 
Shaw, who had been a Catholic priest and a Jesuit, manifested 
great interest in his behalf. But, after passing through many 
" phases of faith," he remained extremely "liberal" or, per- 
haps more, justly, "radical" in his opinions upon theological 
questions, happy that he was never led to doubt the existence 
of a divine power which works for good. 

His energetic temperament prevented him from permitting 
leisure to stagnate into idleness, and to his various local ac- 
tivities he added the literary labor of translation. He trans- 
lated and published "Consuelo," and other tales of George 
Sands ; "Zchokke's Historj' of Switzerland," the " Swiss Fam- 
ily Robinson," "Life of Charles Fourier," and other books. 
Toward the end of his life he withdrew more and more into the 
retirement of his home, and devoted himself more exclusively 
to the management of his own affairs. But his interest in pub- 
lic affairs was not relaxed. The immortal youthfulness of his 
spirit asserted itself always, and after an illness, which, as he had 
wished his last illness to be, was very short, he died on the 4th 
of November, 1882, and was buried in the Moravian cemetery. 

This recapitulation of a few^ facts in the life of Mr. Shaw 
serves only as a preface to the true portraiture of the man, which 
was drawn by his friend and neighbor of many years, Sidney 
Howard Gay, who knew him intimately, who greath^ loved and 
honored him, and whose faithful and most affectionate deline- 
ation, with all its warmth of feeling and felicity of jihrase, 
does not exaggerate in any degree a remarkably noble, manly 
and beautiful character. 

" Were we to preach a sermon its text should be from those 
desponding words, ' The good man is perished out of the earth; 
there is none upright among men ;' an assertion, which, how- 
ever true it may have been in the time of Micah, is not true 
in our time. How untrue it is every man and woman in this 
community will bear witness in the death of a good man among 
us, who, in a long life of seventy- three years, has never known 
a fellow creature except as a friend, and whose single aim in 
living has been, that when he went out of the world he might 
leave it a little better than he found it. Not that it ever oc- 
curred to him that his ways and wishes differed from those of 
many other men of like opportunities ; not that he ever could 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 575 

have said — we do not believe that he ever once assumed in 
thought— that any special purpose belonged to his life; thai 
he was called to any exceptional duty, or that he was pecu- 
liarly faithful to that duty. The modesty that distinguished 
him made anj' such self-consciousness impossible. There are 
men who are born saints, and men who are saints by education 
through much travail and sorrow. The great difference is that 
the born saint never knows that he is one ; he has no measure 
of himself between what he wants to be and what he is not by 
gift of nature. He is as Cxod made him, and he can no more be 
or conceive of being anything else, than he can be or conceive 
of being a man of another race in some far-off countr}-. 

"Let this not be understood as mere words of eulogy, for it is 
meant to be a simple statement of the fundamental truth in 
regard to this one man who has just perished out of the earth. 
His life should not be permitted to fade away from us without 
a recognition of its character, its beauty, what there maj' be in 
living, and of what a man may be to his fellow men. The 
elders, indeed, may not need to be reminded of it, but the 
younger should be taught to understand and remember it. 

"In one of the many notices of Mr. Shaw's death it was said 
that there was in him a singular mixture of modesty and man- 
liness, as if there were something incompatible in those quali- 
ties. Rather, it should be said, he was singularly modest 
because he was singularly manly. Probably never in his life was 
he outraged by a single word or look of insult, for his perfect 
self-command and self-respect could never irritate or provoke 
resentment. He honored manhood, and as he maintained his 
own, so he respected it in others, and kept anger at bay, if 
there were occasion for anger. Not the humblest would he 
permit to outdo him in personal courtesy, not from any pre- 
tense of humility on his part, but from spontaneous reverence 
for human nature. If he was ever impatient of anything it was 
of servility as a respect paid, not to the man, but to accident of 
position. It was almost a personal humiliation to him that 
any man should forget that first of. all he was a man. 'Mr. 
Shaw,' said one who has long been in his employment, 're- 
spected every man who respected himself." For himself, could 
he have chosen his path in life, it wovdd have been one where, 
whatever he might be, whatever should be bestowed upon him 
of honor and of wealth, would not have been due to fixed cir- 



576 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUKTY. 

cumstances, but to liis own manliness and his own energy. His 
modesty, in tlie original sense of that word, was in the accurate 
measure he took of his own powers, making no mistake as to 
what he could do and what he could not do ; neither over-esti- 
mating himself nor under-estimating others. Had no pre- 
arranged good fortune fallen to his lot, he would, doubtless, 
have achieved it, as certainly he would have been glad of the 
chance of trying. 

" With these qualities went naturally the highest kind of 
courage. It was not merely the courage of his convictions, 
which is common enough, but the courage of coming to con- 
clusions of his own without regard to either private or public 
opinion. One might be sometimes almost impatient with him, 
because he did not seem open to conviction. In one sense he 
was not; but it was because he was so singularly faithful to the 
obligation of coming to an impartial judgment of his own and 
then adhering to it. He stood alone in the court-room of his 
own conscience, and the conclusion he came to was the conclu- 
sion as between right and wrong, as it was given to him to see 
it. Then he was immovable — till he. moved, if at all, on his own 
motion for an appeal to his own court. Then he admitted no 
argument of counsel, no personal bias, no consideration of self 
interest, no dictates even of affection to plead a cause. 

" It was impossible not to respect his opinions, however one 
might differ from them; for it was impossible not to see that he 
maintained them simply because he thought them true, and not 
because he thought they were his. With those who did not 
agree with him he could not be resentful, and he was rarely im- 
patient for a moment, even with the most vapid foolishness. 
His modesty never let him forget the limitations of human in- 
telligence, and that no man is entitled to set up his opinions as 
wiser and better than those of all other men. That perfect in- 
tellectual freedom whicli he maintained as his own right, he re- 
cognized to the full as the right of others. His own unbiased 
judgment and conscience were guides infallible to him; but he 
no more set them us as guides for other people than he would 
accept their judgments and consciences in place of his own. 

" One who thought so much for himself must needs do a good 
deal of thinking, for second-hand opinions were of no use to 
him. He shirked no responsibility lest he might have to lift 
the burden alone; nor was he ever afraid of intellectual or 



HISTOKY OF UICIIMOND COUNTY. 577 

moral solitude. The problem of human society was by 
no means satisfactorily settled for him, because in the lottery 
of life his ticket had turned up a prize. He early put to him- 
self the question, why should the few, himself among them, 
have all that worldly prosperity can give, while the many, com- 
paratively almost all, are sunk from the beginning to the end 
in the slough of poverty, wretchedness, ignorance, darkness and 
crime, from which no struggle of theirs, even when they know 
enough to struggle, promises any release? He believed too 
much in man to believe this state of things as the will of God. 
He was confident, never more confident than in the seventy- 
third year of liis age, that there was somewhere a law divine, if 
only we could be wise enough to see it, and good enough to live 
up to it, whereby all men would become equal inheritors of the 
earth and the fruits thereof, whereby the gifts of genius, of in- 
dustry, of energy, and of forethought should contribute to the 
common welfare and happiness of all men, not to be hoarded for 
the benefit of their possessors only, and so often to the injury of 
almost all the rest. 

This was not in him — as with so many for whom the lottery of 
life turns out nothing but blanks— a blind and resentful instinct 
that would pull all down to a common level; but a sublime faith 
that all may be lifted to the highest point of culture, of. com- 
fort and of material happiness that humanity has reached in 
certain classes, or ever can reach. He saw a promise of it in his 
earlier years, in the philosophy of Fourier, and sj^ared neither 
labor nor zeal nor fortune so long as hope lasted. He saw it 
lately in the doctrine of Henry George upon land tenure; and 
that he upheld with all the enthusiasm and devotion of his 
earlier years, and died in the hope that therein was found the 
divine law. All good causes, the help of the poor, the ignor- 
ant, the criminal and the enslaved, had always his ready 
sympathy and his hearty supjiort, as partial remedies for misfor- 
tune and wrong; but underneath them all he was always seek- 
ing for the great remedy that should strike at the root of all the 
evils, and inequalities, and suffering which the world inherits 
from generation to generation. Whether he was right or wrong 
in his profound belief, whether the establishment of any such 
order of human society as he hoped for be possible, this is not 
the place to discuss; but this, at least is true— that he who lived 
out more than the allotted term of three score years and ten, 

37 



578 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

and for fifty of those years governed his life and relations to 
his fellow-men by a faith so pure, so beneficent as that, was 
one whose memorj' should not die, for it will be indeed ill for 
the world when the good men have so ' perished out of the 
earth' that 'none upright." such as he, can any more be 
found. 

" It was in accord with this faith that Mr. Shaw should have 
held wealth as an estate in trust. Xo one knows and no one will 
ever know, among all of those whose hearts are sorelj' bruised 
at his death for love of the man, how many there are who also 
mourn the loss of a benefactor: for literally his left hand knew 
not what his open right hand did. And in this, as in all things 
else, he was guided by that calm judgment and eminent sense 
of justice which distinguished him. He could turn his back 
promptly, and squarely and peremptorily to any appeal, 
whether for private aid or for a public purpose, that did not 
commend itself to his own judgment; regretting perhaps that he 
might grieve a friend by a denial, but never giving a thought 
to how much he might shock public opinion. So, also, he was 
never in danger of wasting his possessions in his zeal for pro- 
gress. Earnest as his hopes and labors were that the world 
should be better and happier, he was too wise to suppose that 
the breakers in which the ship was tossing could be stilled by 
throwing overboard his little cask of oil. He put it to a wiser 
purpose, caring generously for his own, recognizing as a first 
duty that nearest at hand, and enjoying and making the best 
possible use of his own prosperity as an unquestionable per- 
sonal right, the sacrifice of which would not advance one jot 
the general good he had so much at heart. But he was what is 
considered, perhaps a little too devoutly, the highest type of 
civilization, 'a good business man,' who knew how to draw 
exact limitations and how to abide bj" them. His disposition of 
his income was systematic. Undoubtedly the number of wealthy 
persons who believe wealth has its duties is increasing; but there 
are still very few who, like Mr. Shaw, believe that they are 
entitled to a moderate proportion only of that in their hands, 
and that the rest should be held as a trust fund to be conscien- 
tiously and wisely used on behalf of those less fortunate than 
themselves. 

" Of his amiability and equanimity of temper, his charming 
personal presence, the uniform courtesy, the unvarying kind- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUXTV. 579 

ness of manner and of speech, little need be said in a com- 
munity where he was so universally known to both old and 
young. The pleasant smile, which was in his eyes as well as 
upon his lips, was not merely a greeting; it was a benediction. 
One could hardly meet him and not feel the better for it, almost 
without knowing why. This inborn grace of a noble and 
kindly nature 'made his face to shine' with an uncommon 
beauty in the morning of his days; so in the evening of his 
years it was as the golden sunset. He was indeed unworthy 
from whom it could be averted. If we read aright this was 
the lesson of his life — a profound reverence for human nature; 
a profound belief in man's high destiny; and an untiring de- 
votion to what he accepted as his duty to his fellow creatures. 

"He died willingly, even gladly; no more questioning than he 
•would question that day shall follow darkness, that he was 
about to join a heavenly company of loved ones who had gone 
before, and that beyond the grave he should find that king- 
dom of heaven which he had hoped might come on earth, and 
the way to which he had sought so diligently and so long." 

SiMONSOx. — AVillem, the founder of the family on Staten 
Island, came from Holland in a vessel, the " Fox," in 1662. His 
descendants have become so numerous on the island that it is 
impossible to trace the different branches. They have been 
large freeholders, and many of them at the present time are 
prominent in the political and church affairs of the island. 
Aert (Arthur) in 1721 purchased an estate of one hundred and 
sixty acres at Carle's neck, now called New Springville, and 
the larger part of this land, with the old homestead, is still in 
possession of his family, having passed from father to son in 
each generation. The house is a picturesque old stone struc- 
ture shaded by a magnificent elm, probablj' the largest in the 
county. David Simonson, a direct descendant and the present 
owner and occupant, is one of the largest freeholders on the 
island. Isaac, a grandson of Aert, was an officer of the old 
Dutch Reformed church at Port Richmond, and in 1793 signed 
the call of the Rev. Thomas Kirby as pastor. 

John, a grandson of Isaac, served in the war of 1812, and 
was noted as a man of deep learning and the possessor of a fine 
library containing many rare and ancient books. 

Jacob, a grandson of Isaac, purchased part of the original 
estate and erected a handsome residence upon it. He lived 



580 UISTORY OF KICIIMOXD COUNTY. 

there for the greater part of his life, and bequeathed the same 
to his children at his death. He served as supervisor of the 
town of Northheld from 1833 to 1840, and in 1840 he was elected 
sheriff of the county, and was again elected supervisor of his 
town in 1849. He died April 4, 1883, in his 8oth year. His 
children are: John, William, who died in 1882; Isaac J., a flor- 
ist in Barclay street. New York; Jacob, a dentist in Newark, 
and Eliza J. Waters, residing in New York. 

John W., son of Jacob and Ann E. Bedell, his lirst wife, was 
born on the old estate December 23, 1826, and died at West 
New Brighton, December 28, 1882. In 1857 he was elected a 
vestryman of the old St. Andrew's church at Richmond, and 
served for a number of years. 

In 1863 he was appointed one of the United States assessors 
of the internal revenue on Staten Island, and after serving the 
government nine years resigned the office. He was also the 
resident agent for the island of the Continental, Phoenix and 
Hanover Fire Insurance Companies of New York from 1865 to 
1872. In 1875 he was elected a trustee of the village of New 
Brighton. In 1880 he was elected president of the New York 
City Fire Insurance Company and served until his death in 
1882. In 1881 he was appointed resident manager for the United 
States of the Standard Fire Office of London, a large English 
corporation. 

He was also prominent in the Masonic order, being a Knight 
Templar and a member of Palestine Commandery, New York. 

In 1851 he married Charlotte A., daiighter of Stephen D. 
Stephens, a prominent citizen of the island. Three of their 
children, Stephen D., Anne E. and Charles E., are now living 
at the family residence in West New Brighton. Stephen D., 
the eldest son of John W., is the junior member of the firm of 
Miller & Simonson, who are the agents for Staten Island of the 
Liverpool and London and Globe and other leading fire insur- 
ance companies. And he is also one of the trustees of the 
Richmond County Savings Bank. 

Stilwell. — This family is of English origin and was here at 
an early date. The first mention of the name, with reference 
to the island, is in the Albany records, where a piece of wood- 
land on the south side of Fresh kill is mentioned as belonging 
to Daniel Stilwell in 1680. There is also mention made in our 
county records of Richard in 1689, of John in 1695-6 and 1708, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COtJXTY. 581 

and of Thomas in 1697 and 1704. It would app*ear then that at 
the close of the seventeenth century there were at least four 
families of the name in the county. We subjoin the names of 
those found in the several church records. 

Elias and his wife Anne Burbank (she was probably the 
daughter of Thomas Burbank and Maritje Martling. See Bur- 
bank family), had a son Thomas baptized June 30, 1726, and a 
son Daniel baptized March 24, 1728. Thomas married Debora 
Martling, and had a son Elias baptized June 10, 1747. Nicholas 
born Januarj', 1747, died April 26, 1819. Abraham born March, 
1750, died September 12, 1S24. 

The Stilwells were for a long time an influential and prom- 
inent family in the county, and members of it filled many local 
offices (see civil and military lists), while there are yet several 
highly respectable individuals among them. 

Sprague. — The tradition in the family is that three brothers, 
Joseph, Edward and John, emigrated simultaneously from 
England, but the date of that event is lost; it must have been 
early, however, as we read of Jacob Spragg, who must have 
been a son of Joseph, as early as 1729. Of these brothers, 
Joseph took np his abode on Staten Island; of the other two, 
one settled on Long Island, and one in Khode Island. Wil- 
liam, whose name we find in the county records in 1767, and 
Joseph in 1772, were undoubtedly grandsons of the original 
Joseph. Tlie original Joseph had three sons, Jacob, John and 
Edward, notwithstanding, the family lias not increased verj'' 
rapidly, and at present numbers but a few families, mostly con- 
fined to the town of Westfield. The only notices of the name 
in the old record of St. Andrew's church, are the following : 
Andrew and Catharine Pryor married. June 28, 1800. Jacob 
and Margaret Wood married July 12, 1800. Daniel, whose 
wife's name was Annatje (Anna), had a daughter Susannah, 
baptized July 18, 1762. There was another Daniel whose wife 
was Maria Poillon, and who had a son Jaques baptized March 
26, 1738, and a son Daniel, baptized April 4, 1736, whose wife's 
name was Ariantje, and had a son Jeremiah, born December 1, 
1763. 

Here we abandon the attempt further to trace the genealogy, 
and give the remaining names wliich we have collected, leaving 
it to the members of the family to discover their own an- 
cestors. Sarah Pareyn (Perine), wife of William '■'obiit,'' had 



582 HISTORY OF KICIIMOND COUNTY. 

twins, William and Daniel, baptized September 6, 1719 (Post- 
humous). Jan and Elizabeth Parein (Penne) had a son John, 
baptized November 15, 1719. Thomas and Sarah Van Name 
had a son Thomas, baptized December 22, 1723. Daniel and 
Cathai'ine Larzalere had a son Richard, baptized November 25, 
1739. Joachim and Anna Tenners had a son John, baptized 
July 28, 1751, and a son Richard, May 23, 1759. Thomas and 
Nancy Fountain had a son Antone, baptized February 16, 1755. 
John and Helena Van Name had a son Elias baptized June 21, 
1752. Richard and Jenneke (Jane) Van Name had a son Nicho- 
las, baptized September 21, 1785. 

The above are from the records of the Dutch church; the fol- 
lowing are from St. Andrew's : Nicholas (son of last mentioned 
Richard) and his wife Effey (Eva) had a daughter Catharine, born 
November 13, 1761. Jeremiah and his wife Yetty had a son Peter, 
born April 30, 1764. John and Oily Taylor were married Sep- 
tember 15, 1757. Samuel and Hannah Van Pelt were married 
June 9, 1755. Richard and Mary his wife had a son Daniel, 
born February 7, 1770. 

Taylor. — Abraham and Harmintje Haughwout had the fol- 
lowing children : Ephraim, baptized October 23, 1711, died 
young; Altje, (Alida), baptized May 18, 1710, died young; 
Rachel, baptized August 21, 1720; Altje, baptized November 
25, 1722; Peter, baptized July 4, 1725; Ephraim, baptized April 
6, 1729; and Margaret, baptized November 23, 1715. Ephraim 
married Elizabeth Morgan, January 4, 1756. Another Ephraim, 
probably father of Abraham, had a son Jan, and a daughter 
Marietta, both baptized in 1696. 

The above family, though English in name, had assimilated 
with the Dutch, as is evident from the names of some of them, 
and are found in the records of the Dutch church. The fol- 
lowing are found in the records of St. Andrew's church, and are 
of another family. Oliver was born 1687, and died August 24, 
1771; there is nothing to indicate that he was born on the is- 
land, though he died here. Henry and Judith had a son John, 
born September 20, 1770. Oliver and Sarah, daughter Eliza- 
beth, born August 24, 1771. Henry and Lydia, son Abraham, 
baptized in 1775. John and Fanny, son Oliver, born September 
24, ]791. Benjamin and Ann Decker married September 9, 
1791. John and Sarah Yates married January 7, 1804. 



f/{ 






^^M^ 





W'«,-\lJ-\\V'i,^ \. %\\%-i,-\iSi\^ w. ^. 



HISTORY OF KICHMOjSTD COTrWTT. 583 

ToTTEN.— We can scarcely consider this family as among the 
old families of the island, thoiigh the name is found in local 
records for more than a century. In the records of St. Andrew's 
church the name occurs two or three times, until the organiza- 
tion of the Methodist church, when it becomes identified with 
that church. Gilbert was one of ihe first, and leading men, 
connected with that society. 

The residence of the families bearing the name has been al- 
most exclusively in the town of Westfield, and the thriving 
village of Tottenville in that town perpetuates their respecta- 
bility and influence. The only notices of the name in church 
records, other than those of the Methodist church, are as fol- 
lows : Silas and Charity, his wife, had two sons : Joseph, born 
August 10, 1765, and Ephraim, born February 24, 1768. Joseph 
and Mary Cubberly wei'e mari-ied December 11, 1804. 

Ephkaim J, ToTTEN was born March 30, 1806, on the home- 
stead at Tottenville, where he remained lantil seventeen years 
of age. Finding the life of a mariner more attractive than 
the labor of the farm, be, at the age of nineteen, became mas- 
ter of a vessel sailing to southern coasts, and for a period of 
twenty-two years continued to follow the sea. In 1850, Mr. 
Totten, with many other adventurous spirits, started for the Pa- 
cific coast, and engaged in mercantile pursuits in San Francisco. 
He had, meanwhile, purchased the homestead farm, his present 
residence, and California no longer proving an attractive point, 
Tottenville became the scene of his business experiences. Here, 
until 1874, he continued a leading and successful merchant, 
finally abandoning the store and retiring to his attractive farm. 
As a republican, Mr. Totten has been an influential factor in 
politics. He filled the office of supervisor for the years 1846- 
47, was a member of the state legislature in 1848, and has 
held other less important positions. He has also been assessor 
and member of the excise board. Public spirited and enter- 
prising, Tottenville and its various interests have been ma- 
terially advanced through his agency. He was one of the pro- 
jectors and an early director of the Staten Island Railroad. 
Mr. Totten is a zealous member of the Bethel Methodist Epis- 
copal church, of which he has been for thirty-three years re- 
cording steward, and equally long a trustee. The lot upon 
which the edifice stands was donated by his father. Ephraim 
J. Totten was nuirried, June 27, 1827, to Harriet, daughter of 



584 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUXTY. 

Jesse Oakley. Tlieir children are: Gilbert, Julia A., George 
O , William W., Frances E., John J., James B. and Ella G. 
The death of Mrs. Totten occurred in August, 1866, and he 
was again married, in 1870, to Mrs. Elizabeth Downer, daughter 
of Jeremiah T. Brower, of Belleville, IST. J. The Totten family 
are of Welsh extraction, three brothers having emigrated from 
Wales. Gilbert and Joseph settled on Staten Island, the latter 
attaining distinction and influence as a Methodist divine. Gil- 
bert became an extensive land owner on Staten Island, married 
Marj" Butler and had children : James, John, Joseph, Rachel, 

Mary, Letitia, Elizabeth and . John, of this number, 

was born in 1771, and died in 1847. He married Xancy Cole, 
of Staten Island, and had twelve children, one of whom is the 
subject of this biography. 

Tysen. — This family is of Dutch origin. Barne Tyseu came 
from Amsterdam about the year 1660. He married Maria 
Kroesen in 1672. He applied for a grant of land in 1674 and 
obtained grant by x')atent from Edmund Andros in 1677. He 
built the old stone house on the land granted by Andros. He 
had three sons : Abraham, Cornelius and David. Abraham had 
a son, Abraham DeDecker Tysen, who was baptized October 
21, 1707, and Cornelius married Clymer Morgan Classen in 
1703 ; but we have been unable to trace their descendants. 
David married Magdalena Morgan in 1698 and died in 171(», 
leaving a son, Barent Tysen, who was born February 4, 1699, 
married Elizabeth Swain October 20, 1723, and died December 
29, 1752, leaving one son, John Tysen, who was born October 
10, 1731. He married Cordelia Bergen May 1, 1757, and died 
March 7, ISOS. He was elected trustee of the " Reformed Dutch 
Church on Staten Island'" in 1787, ordained elder in 1797 and 
was several times supervisor of Northfield. He had two sons, 
John and Jacob. John was born March 17, 1758, and married 
Miss Elizabeth Jaques March 21, 1798. He was elected deacon 
and treasurer of the "North Dutch Church" in 1802 and 
remained its treasurer until his death, February 6, 1827. The 
records of the church contain the following : 

"Whereas, God in his Sovereign Providence has removed by 
Death Capt. John Tj'sen, Treasurer of this Church, who died 
yesterday, Feb'y 6, 1827, Elder of this Church and accordingly 
member of the Consistory of the same. Whereupon it was 
unanimouslv 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND OOUNTV. 685 

" Hesolved, . That the surviving members of the Consistory, 
as a suitable mark of respect for tlie usefulness, piety, faithful- 
ness and zeal of said deceased Elder, we do wear crape on the 
left arm for the space of thirty days from the date hereof.'' 

He left a large family, of whom one is now living — Charles 
Tysen, residing at Port Richmond. 

David Jaques, his eldest son, was born August 28, 1807, 
married Miss Elizabeth P. Lake December 29, 1831, and died 
March 27, 188.5, leaving two sons, Daniel W. and David J., 
both residing at New Dorp. 

Isaac F., another son of John, was born in February, 1814, 
married Miss Cordelia H. Jackson January 11, 1837, and died 
March 26, 1886, leaving one son, Robert F., residing in New 
York city. 

Jacob, son of John, Sen., was born October 8, 1773, and mar- 
ried Miss Mary Housman February 6, 1794. He became treas- 
urer of the North Dutch church at the death of his brother 
John. He was judge, state senator and member of congress. 
He died July 16, 1848, leaving three sons : John, Richard and 
Raymond M. John, the eldest, was born February 1, 1808, 
and is still living at Schraalenburgh, N. J. Richard was born 
May 13, 1805, married Miss Elizabeth W. Ferine May 19, 1830, 
and died February 2, 1866, leaving two sons : Jacob Raymond, 
residing at Jacksonville, Florida, and Edward P., residing at 
New Dorp. Raymond M. was born October 14, 1819, and died 
May 8, 1851, leaving no male issue. 

The records show that this family has been largely interested 
in Staten Island realty, and David J. Tj^sen is now one of the 
largest owjiers of real estate in the county. As was the custom 
with many of the old settlers, for a century or more they buried 
in their family burying ground on their homestead, John Tysen 
being the last buried there in 1808. 

Van Buskirk, Van Dczer. — Neither of these can be re- 
garded as old Staten Island families. There was a Cornelius 
Van Buskirk here during the revolution, but he came from 
Bergen. The sites of tlie Pavilion, at New Brighton, and St. 
Peter's church now occupy a part of his farm. His dwelling 
house stood along the Shore road, at the foot of the hill upon 
which St. Mark's hotel stands, and is alluded to elsewhere. He 
had a son who owned a farm on the road leading from Quaran- 
tine to Richmond near the Clove road. Another son lived at 



f)86 }IISTOEV OF RICHMOND COUNTr. 

WestiN'ew Brighton, and owned the mill which formerly stood 
on the "Factory Dock;" his wife was a Schermerhorn from 
Schenectady. 

The Van Buskirks were among the earliest settlers on Bergen 
Point, and were a very respectable though not a numerous 
familj% on the island. Mrs. Van Duzer, mother-in-law of Hon. 
H. B. Metcalfe, married a son of the original Cornelius Van 
Buskirk, and after his death married the late Daniel Van Duzer. 

The Van Duzer family originally came from Long Island, and 
settled on Staten Island near the close of the last century. 

Daniel Van Duzer left at least two sons, John H. and Daniel 
C, both now deceased. 

John H. Van Clief is one of the prominent business men of 
Richmond county who, by industry and careful methods, has 
won for himself success and reputation. Mr. Van Clief is a 
grandson of Daniel Van Clief, of German extraction, who settled 
(m a farm near Garrison's Station, S. I., previous to the revolu- 
tion, and who was four times wounded during the colonial 
struggle for independence. The family enjoys an enviable 
record for patriotism and loyalty, members of it having served 
in the war of 1812, in the Mexican war and in the war of the 
rebellion. One of its members, Benjamin "Van Clief, died on 
Staten Island of a wound received in the war with Mexico. He 
was a son of Jesse Van Clief, and a brother of the subject of 
this sketch. 

Jesse Van Clief was a man of indomitable courage and energy. 
He was a ship blacksmith and was employed in the construc- 
tion of many famous war ships, among which was the "Consti- 
tution." While working upon her he broke his leg, and in order 
that her completion might not be delayed he allowed himself to 
be transported from Staten Island to the Brooklyn navy yard 
on a couch, after which he superintended the rigging of the 
vessel in his invalid condition. Afterward he fought in the 
war of 1812, in which he had the misfortune to lose his 
hearing. 

Jesse Van Clief married Miss Margaret Moore (English) and 
of their ten children John was the fourth. He attended private 
school in the neighborhood of his home till his father's death 
left him, at the age of ten, an orphan. Though thrown upon his 
own resources for support he did not give up the idea of edu- 
cating himself, and with this end in view he spent many of his 




■^«f fhryAS,P^tcni£. 





^^--^--C^ 




HI3T0RT OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 587 

evenings in the night school at Tompkinsville. The same 
spirit which characterized him in this has attended him through 
liis whole business career. At the age of seventeen he com- 
menced learning the trade of a carpenter, and at twenty-one he 
engaged in contract work for himself. In 1854 he discontinued 
contracting and started in the lumber business at Port Rich- 
mond. The success which he has attained in this, as in his 
other ventures, is well known on Staten Island, and is entirely- 
due to his foresight and good judgment. 

Mr. Van Clief has never held political office, though he has 
long been identified with the politics of the county as a staunch 
democrat. For thirteen years he was a member of the Rich- 
mond County Guard, and during a portion of that time served 
as sergeant of the company. He has interested himself in real 
estate on Staten Island of which he is a large holder, and his 
advice in regard to real estate and land values generally, is 
highly esteemed by business men. He was married July 17, 
1836, to Miss Janette Vreeland. He has had seven children, all 
of whom survive. 

The Vanderbilts. — Staten Island is remarkable in that it 
was the birthplace of the distinguished American railroad king 
(Commodore) Cornelius Vanderbilt, and for many years the 
residence of his world-famous son and heir, William H. Van- 
derbilt. Without a sketch of their lives, whose names and 
those of their descendants are interwoven with so many inci- 
dents of its jDrogress, a history of Richmond county must be 
incomplete. 

Commodore Vanderbilt was of Holland Dutch descent. The 
common ancestor of the family from which he came, Jan (John) 
Aoertsen Van der Bilt, arrived in this country from (van) der 
Bilt or Bylt, the hill, in Holland, about 1650, and took up his 
residence near Flatbush, Long Island.* A grandson of the 
latter, Jacob Van der Bilt, in 1718, purchased from his father, 

*Jan Aoertsen Vander Biklt married Dierber Cornelius. He married three 
times. The second wife is assumed to liave been the ancestress, as the name 
Cornelius is repeated in the family. Jacob Janse (son of John), married, August 
13, 1687, Maritje (Mary) Vander Vliet (of the stream). Jacob, Jr., born 1693, 
bought a farm on Staten Island, 1718, whence he had removed from Flatbush, L. 
I. It will be seen how long a time the Vanderbilts have been associated with the 
island. He connected himself with the Jloraviau church ; married Neeltje (Cor- 
nelia) Denyse. Jacob, born 1723, married Mary Hoogland. Cornelius married 
Phiebe Hand, February 8, 1787. The Cornelius Vanderbilt of this sketch was 
their son. 



588 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

of the same name, a farm on Staten Island, to which he re- 
moved with his wife, Eleanor. It was he who founded the 
Staten Island branch of the Vanderbilt family. 

For more than a century his hardy descendants developed 
nothing of a remarkable character. They were quiet, indus- 
trious farmers, pious, perhaps to a fault, and liberal in their 
support of the little Moravian church, to the faith of which 
they were converted by some of the persecuted followers of 
John Huss, then settled at New Dorp. "Not slothful in busi- 
ness, serving the Lord," is a motto which they seem early to 
have adopted, and to have followed through the long years with 
most commendable consistency. 

On May 27, 1794, Cornelius Vanderbilt was born, at the 
home of his parents, near Stapletoii.* He was the son of Cor- 
neliusVan Derbilt and Phoebe Hand, and the great-grandson of 
Jacob Van der Bilt. His boyhood and youth were spent very 
much after the manner of other farmers' sons, in the pursuit 
of amusement and the performance of minor tasks about the 
homestead. He did not love school, and early acquired a taste 
for a seafaring life. But his mother, a woman of sound com- 
mon sense, won him from his dreams with a practical proposal, 
the acceptance of which by him started her son on that won- 
derful career which finally seated him. if not in the highest, 
then in the most useful i^osition offered by modern civilization 
as a goal for ambition. The proposal was this, that in case of 
his comi^leting an almost impossible i^iece of work upon the 
farm before a certain date he should have one hundred dollars, 
with which to purchase for himself a boat. He accepted the 
terms, and with the assistance of other boys, whom he interested 
in the project by offering them the privilege of sailing with him, 
he won the prize. This took place in his sixteenth year, and 
shortly after he began the transportation business by carry- 
ing passengers to and from Staten Island for an established toll 
of eighteen cents. Often when he first started in this business 
he would forego his meals to ferry excursion parties to the city 
and secure the extra reward sure to follow. 

He made money rapidly. At the end of the first year he gave 

*The name Vanderbilt, like most Dutch names, has been sulijected to modifi- 
cation in its spelling. Commodore Vanderbilt always signed it with a capital D, 
wliile his son, William H., and the ])resent representatives of the family write it 
without division — Vanderbilt. 




^"f^hjiAHKichie. 




^J^^^^-T 2^^-tC^ C'C^^^^ 



HISTORY OF RICmiOND COUNTY. ,'589 

one hundred dollars to his mother for the boat, and one thousand 
dollars besides. At the end of the second he gave her another 
thousand dollars, and had secured a fractional interest in two 
or three more boats. The war of 1812 also furnished him many 
opportunities to add to his regular business, which he eagerly 
seized, and from which he profited largely, insomuch that he 
began to be regarded as a remarkable youth. While engaged 
in this manner he developed many of the peculiarities which so 
distinguished his after life, especially that of never allowing 
himself to be underbid or circumvented by any person or in any 
way.* 

In his nineteenth year Mr. Vanderbilt fell in love with, and 
married, his cousin. Miss Sophia Johnson, the daughter of his 
father's sister Eleanor. The ceremony took place November 
19, 1813. Immediately after it he redoubled his efforts to place 
himself on a solid bnsiness foundation. From the profits of a 
contract with the commissary department of the United States 
for delivering food to the six forts in New York bay, together 
with other moneys which he had accumulated, he built a small 
schooner for the coasting trade, which he called the "Dread." 
The following year he built a much larger one named after his 
sister Charlotte, and placed it on the line between New York 
and Charleston. About this time, also, he began to study the 
modelling and planning of vessels, which finally ended in his 
abandoning sails for the then modern invention, the steamboat. 

The end of 1817 foiand him twenty- three years of age, mar- 
ried, with nine thousand dollars in his possession, and out of 
business. He had heartily espoused the cause of Gibbons, 
proprietor of the steam line between New York city and New 
Brunswick, N. J., in the fight which that gentleman was con- 
ducting against the Pulton Livingston New York steamboat 
monopoly. Mr. Gibbons, knowing his quality of determination, 
and appreciating the assistance which he had rendered him, 
offered Mr. Vanderbilt the command of the small steamboat 
"Mouse of the Mountain," which he accepted at a salary of one 
thousand dollars per annum. 

For twelve years he remained with Gibbons, fighting continu- 
ally against his monopolistic opponents. During this period he 

*Many interesting incidents in the life of Commodore Vanderbilt may be 
found in a racy little volume, by W. A. Crofiut, entitled " The Vanderbilts " — 
Bedford, Clarke & Co., 1886. 



1590 HISTORY OF RICHMON^D COUNTY. 

added considerably to his income by the purchase and mainten- 
ance of the Half-way House at New Brunswick, where ten of 
his thirteen children were born. Finally, the lawgiving Fulton 
Livingston the sole right to run steamboats in the waters of 
New York stale was repealed, and Mr. Vanderbilt, feeling that 
he could greatly increase his income by engaging in business 
for himself, even though Gibbons offered him an equal partner- 
ship in his line, then paying forty thousand dollars a year, 
turned his eyes in the direction of tlie Hudson river and Long 
Island sound traffic. For the purpose of facilitating the accom- 
plishment of his projects, he sold his hotel and removed to Xew 
York city wath his family in 1829. He resided for a short time 
in Stone street, also in East Broadway, after whieli he removed 
to Stapleton, Staten Island, where he built the commodious and 
stately residence at present in the possession of Mr. George' H. 
Daley. 

From the time of his leaving Xew Brunswick, Mr. Vander- 
bilt made money rapidly, and the schemes which he put into 
operation for the increase of his fortune followed each other in 
quick succession. In the spring of 1830 he commenced running 
a line of boats, which had been built for him and which con- 
tained many improvements of his own invention, on the Hud- 
son river. At first he was ojiposed in this by the Stevenses, 
Daniel Drew and Dean Richmond, all of whom, however, 
rapidly disappeared before his unconquerable management and 
indomitable industry. For five years after leaving Gibbons he 
made thirty thousand dollars a year, which he doubled after 
the expiration of that period. At the age of forty he had more 
than a score of vessels running in all directions, and the num- 
ber was so rapidly increasing that he began to be called the 
Commodore, a name which ever afterward clung to him. Be- 
tween 1840 and 1850 his receipts were enormous, and he realized 
that people were looking upon his extensive oj^erations and 
growing wealth with that curiosity which phenomenal success 
always attracts. 

In 1849 he commenced his famous battle with the Pacific Mail 
Steamship Company bj' transporting passengers across Lake 
Nicaragua, located among the tops of the Andes. To accom- 
plish this he was obliged to get a small side-wheel steamer ("The 
Director") up the San Juan river, full of cascades and rapids, 
which he succeeded in jumping by tying down the safety valve, 



HISTORY OF RICH5I0XD COUMY. 591 

to the great consternation of the accompanj-ing engineers. He 
made more than one million dollars a year in Nicaragua, besides 
the income from his other enterprises at the same time. In 
1853 he sold out the route to the Transit Line and started on his 
voyage in the "North Star," then the largest steam yacht 
ever constructed. Accompanying him were his wife and eleven 
children. Everywhere through Europe Mr. Vanderbilt was re- 
ceived with marked respect by the various sovereigns and peo- 
ples, who looked upon his self-made wealth with surprise and 
wonder. This trip gave a great impetus to emigration, and was 
influential in bringing to this country many who recognized in 
him the legitimate product of free institutions. 

On his return to America Commodore Vanderbilt became en- 
gaged in an altercation with the Nicaragua Transit Company, 
which, in his absence, had grown rich by systematically de- 
frauding him. The course which he took on that occasion was 
characteristic. After first warning them of his intentions, he 
put on an opposition line, and in one year the Transit Company 
was bankrupt. Nine years longer he continued in the California 
business, accumulating not less than ten million dollars; but 
the filibuster Walker put an end to further operations bj- seiz- 
ing the Vanderbilt franchise and nearly capturing his steamers. 

Mr. Vanderbilt' s next venture was in the direction of the 
transatlantic traffic. At that time this was divided between the 
Cunard Line of English steamers and the Collins Weekly Line 
(American). These furnished only half the service required. 
The commodore offered to form a partnership with Collins, but 
the latter declined, fearing that if Mr. Vanderbilt once got his 
hand on the European trade he would monopolize it and in all 
probability crowd him out. For some time the commodore 
waged war with his voluntary antagonist over the United States 
mails, which had heretofore been carried at an enormous rate; 
and tinalh', when Mr. Collins' power at Washington was too 
great to be overthrown, he offered to cai^y the mails for noth- 
ing. President Pierce vetoed the Collins subsidy and Mr. 
Vanderbilt placed the three steamers, "Vanderbilt," "'Ariel " 
and "Harvest Queen," on the route. With the.se he beat the 
Collins steamers nine times out of ten. He soon made his line 
the favorite of travelers, and before long succeeded in so mo- 
nopolizing the trade that the Collins line disappeared from the 
ocean. For years he continued the transatlantic traffic, and 



592 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

gave it up only when lie found that the rapidly growing railroad 
interests of the country furnished him with a better invest- 
ment for his money. At the time he commenced to put money 
in railroad stock he had built lif ty-one steamboats and steam- 
ships, besides schooners and other vessels,and he was the largest 
employer in the country. He owned nearly a hundred vessels, 
and his powerful hand was felt in every commercial circle in 
the world. 

The war of the rebellion, in its effect uj^on a man of Mr. 
Vanderbilt's wealth and temperament, was of the greatest im- 
portance. From its outbreak he favored offensive measures, 
and, together with Thurlow Weed, interested himself in the 
sending of troops to the front. Mr. Lincoln, noticing the ardor 
with which he espoused the federal cause, sent for him, after 
the sinking of the " Cumberland" by the " Merrimac," and 
offered him money to stop the progress of the rebel ram. Re- 
fusing compensation, he returned to New York, received a 
quota of government seamen aboard his favorite ship "Van- 
derbilt," and soon afterward was steaming up the James in quest 
of the confederate ram. The "Merrimac" did not reappeax", 
however, and the commodore wrote to Mr. Lincoln offering him 
the loan of his ship till the close of the war. Congress ordered 
a medal struck in his honor and presented to the donor, and 
the " Vanderbilt," then probably the handsomest and best 
equipped steamer afloat, and representing a value of eight hun- 
dred thousand dollars, i^assed into the possession of the United 
States government. 

In the winter of 1862-63, Mr. Vanderbilt made his first invest- 
ments in railroad stock, a move which at the time was consid- 
ered by his friends to be impolitic. He was then in his 69th 
year, and it was thought that the intricate methods of Wall 
street would be too much for his declining days. But the fact 
that in the next fourteen years he succeeded in withdrawing 
his immense fortune entirely from its maritime investment, 
doubling it four times over, and obtaining for it the most solid 
of all security then known to the American financier, shows the 
mental power which he possessed and the clearness of his judg- 
ment. His first investment was in Harlem, then selling at from 
seven to nine. Under the impetus of his name it soon rose to 
thirty, and shortly afterward to par, on his obtaining from the 
common council of New York city a franchise for a street rail- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 593 

road to the Battery. The phenomenal rise thus given the stock 
excited the bears, who, after selling immense quantities of Har- 
lem short, attempted to injure the fomnHiiline by influencing 
the withdrawal of the street franchise. They succeeded, by 
forming a combination with the aldermen, in having the charter 
repealed; but found to their sorrow that he had outdone them 
by purchasing all the stock and holding it in his possession. 
Some of it sold as high as two hundred and eighty-five, and 
from the millions which he realized in this cornering of Harlem 
Mr. Vanderbilt began investing in Hudson Eiver stock, then (in 
the fall of 1863) selling at twenty-live. His idea was, if pos- 
sible, to control the road and secure its consolidation with the 
Harlem. For this purpose he went to Albany and secured the 
promises of a majority of the legislators tliat they would give 
their votes in favor of the measure. Again, as in the instance 
of the common council, he found that duplicity was being prac- 
ticed upon him. The honorable members of assemblj^ and their 
friends were selling Hudson River short, itreparatorj' to break- 
ing their jjledges and defeating the bill. This caused Mr. Van- 
derbilt to form a combination with John Tobiu, afterward pves- 
ident of the road, and Leonard Jerome. Tliey secured, as in 
the Harlem corner, nearly all the stcick of the road. The legis- 
lators went on selling till they had disposed of twenty-seven 
thousand more shares of stock than existed, and when the time 
came to cover their shorts there was a panic in Wall street. 
Hundreds were ruined outright, and Mr. Yanderl)ilt"s reputa- 
tion as a railroad manipulator was firmly maintained. 

The acquisition of the Hudson River Railroad by the com- 
modore gave him great power over the transit of the state, which 
was, however, hampered to a certain e.vtenr by tlie arbitrary 
conduct of the New York Central, under rlie control of Dean 
Richmond and Peter Cagger. These gentlemen adopted a 
course with Mr. Vanderbilt which was from rlie tirsr calculated 
to excite his displeasure. They refused f(» unite witli him in 
any measure for the better accommodation of either passengers 
or freight, and caused him to retaliate by a bold movement, 
which finally gained him j^ossession of the Xew York Central 
road. Richmond and Cagger had been in the habit of using 
Drew's river boats as an outlet for their freight in New York 
city during the summer months, but in the winter they were 
obliged to send it over the Hudson River road. Mr. Vander- 

38 



594 ['history of kichmond county. 

bilt took advantage of this fact, and refused to run any trains 
to Albany during the winter, thus reducing the stock of the 
Central more than fifteen per cent., after which he bought large 
amounts of it, and gained the management. Three years later, 
November 1, 1869, he secured its consolidation with the Hudson 
."River road under the name of the New York Central and Hud- 
son River Railroad Company'. Even now Mr. Yanderbilt found 
that his path was not entirely clear. New difficulties ])resented 
themselves in the senseless and ruinous rate cutting of the Erie 
road, against which all his remonstrances were in vain. After 
trying in various ways to outwit Daniel Brew and his friends, 
then in control of that companj% he decided that his only plan 
would be to i^urchase the road. He accordingly commenced a 
rapid absorption of Erie stock, while Drew, Fisk and Gould 
sold short. For a while the issue of the battle between these 
giants of finance seemed doubtful, but the odds were in favor 
of the commodore. No one suspected the trick which Drew 
and his companions were about to put in practice; nothing less, 
indeed, than the issue of bogus stock. One hundred thousand 
shares of this were suddenly thrown on the market, and Mr. 
Vanderbilt unknowingly bought the whole issue. Immediately 
on discovering the fraud, he put the machinerj' of the law in 
motion. Drew, Fisk and Gould tied to New Jerse\', carrying 
nearly seven million dollars of greenbacks with them. But 
they were finally pressed to such an extent by Mr. Vanderbilt' s 
lawyers that they agreed to a restitution of several millions. 
The commodore, however, never fully recovered his loss in this 
transaction. After the matter had subsided, he made no 
further effort to obtain control of the Erie road, and for some 
years devoted his energy to the improvement of the properties 
already in his possession. He caused the tracks of the Harlem 
and New York Central and Hudson River Roads to be relaid 
and reballasted, new rolling stock was added to their outfit, the 
St. John's Park property was purchased and the freight depot 
erected. A charter was also obtained for an immense union de- 
pot at Forty-second street, and the building was constructed, 
together with the splendid system of viaduct tracks forming 
the entrance to the city of the northern, western and eastern 
railroads. This was accomplished at a cost of six million live 
hundred thousand dollars, half of which was borne by the city 
of New York. On November 10, 1869, the famous Albert de 



HISTORY OF KICHMOXD COUNTY. 595 

Groot bas-relief, emblematical of Commodore Yanderbilt's 
career, was unveiled in the presence of more than ten thousand 
people. The design was most happy, and plainly tells the story 
of his rise from farmer's boy to railroad king. It occupies a 
position over the east front of the depot at St. John's Park, 
and it is said to have cost in the neighborhood of two hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars. The vast improvement which Mr. 
Vanderbilt made in his roads by the constant exercise of his 
managerial skill, together with their ever-increasing traffic, add- 
ed greatly to their value, and he at last applied to the legis- 
lature for permission to increase their capital stock from thirtj'- 
tive million dollars to ninety million dollars. This was granted, 
and he derived as his jjersonal share of profit from the transac- 
tion twenty-six million dollars. 

In November, 1873, Mr. Vanderbilt found himself obliged by 
the death of his son-in-law, Horace F. Clark, who had formerly, 
through his position of president of the Lake Shore & Mich- 
igan Southern, controlled for the New York Central road an 
outlet in Chicago, to purchase the former road. The advantage 
secured by rival railroad managers through the combination of 
the Grand Trunk and Great Western railroads also obliged him 
later on to secure the Canada Southern and the Michigan Central, 
which, when added to his former acquisitions, composed the 
finest and best equipped railroad property in the world. 

The commodore met with the loss of his wife August 17, 
1868. Her death took place at the residence of her son- in-law, 
Horace F. Clark, where she was visiting. It was a great blow 
to her husband and family. Mrs. Vanderbilt was one of the 
noblest of women, affectionate, thoughtful and self-denying. 
She had borne thirteen children, twelve of whom reached ma- 
turity. Her burial took place at New Dorp in the presence of a 
crowd of affectionate friends. Among the pall bearers were A. 
T. Stewart and Horace Greely. 

A year later, in 1869, Mr. Vanderbilt married, at the little 
town of London in Canada, another of his cousins, Miss Frank 
A. Crawford. Augustus Schell and James Tillinghast were the 
sole witnesses of this ceremony. The second Mrs. Vanderbilt 
exercised a softening and refining influence over her husband 
and made him a loving and attentive companion in his old age. 
It was largely due to her influence that he established the "Van- 
derbilt University," of Tennessee, at a cost to himself of §1,000,- 



596 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

000, and also that lie purchased for the friend of his latter days, 
Rev. Dr. Deems, "The Church of the Strangers," costing $50,000. 

On January 4, 1877, the great railroad king, then at the age 
of eighty-three, died. His funeral excited an intensity of inter 
est equal to that shown toward no other man, purely of a private 
character, who had preceded him. A large number of friends 
followed his body to its last resting place at ISTewDorp, and the 
items of his will were telegraphed to all parts of the world, where 
they were eagerly sought by thousands whose interests they 
might incidentally affect. 

Thus passed from the stage of usefulness perhaps the ablest 
man of affairs the world has ever seen. He left behind him a 
large family, of whom William Henry Vanderbilt was the eldest 
son. On examination of the will it was found that the commo- 
dore had left the bulk of his fortune, amounting to nearly $90,- 
000,000, in his hands. How well he managed the trust imposed 
on him by his father will be seen in the following sketch of his 
life. 

William Henry Vanderbilt was born at New Brunswick, N. 
J., May 8, 1821. For four years he attended the public school 
in that place; but shortly after his father's removal to New 
York city, in 1829, he became a student of Columbia Grammar 
school. 

At sixteen he began his business career as a ship chandler, 
and two years later he entered the office of Drew, Robinson & 
Co., bankers on Wall street, the senior partner of which was 
Daniel Drew. The young man had been for some time consid- 
ering the adverse opinion which his father seemed to have 
formed of him. He saw that it was an obstacle to his progress, 
and resolved if possible to remove it. With this end in view, 
he devoted himself unreservedly to his work, and as a result, 
his advancement at the bank was a rapid one. On entering it 
liis salary was placed at $150 per annum. The second year it 
was $300, and the third it was $1,000. At the age of 
twenty he married Miss Maria Louisa Kissam, daughter 
of a Brooklyn clergyman of the Dutch Reformed church, and 
with her he went to board in East Broadway. His father was 
then worth in the neighborhood of $1,000,000, but he had made 
up his mind that his son was reckless and that helping him 
would but be wasting money; so he allowed him to live on as he 
had started, without his aid. At last the young man's health 




1 



■^•f 'i^AXIUtshie 



^y^ZyVf^^ c^^:^^^^^^^ 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 597 

gave way, and his physicians notified his father that he must 
be taken from the banlv or the result might prove fatal. 

The commodore looked about for some means of employing 
his son, which would at the same time enable him to recover his 
health. Finally lie decided on purchasing for him a farm at 
'New Dorp, S. I., between the old Moravian church and the sea, 
and to it William and his wife removed (in 1842) with the deter- 
mination that they would make the best of the situation. The 
house to which they went was a plain two-story structure facing 
the sea, with a lean-to for a kitchen. It probably did not contain 
more than five rooms. The farm also was very small, and was 
a part of the neglected barrens of Staten Island. It needed to 
be carefully tilled and abundantly fertilized to make it fruitful. 

From the first Mr. Vanderbilt made a success of farming. As 
at the bank, he gave his undivided attention to the task before 
him, and got as much as was i^ossible out of his narrow acres. 
His rule was hard work during the day, and rest at night. Essen- 
tially a domestic man, he lived, while at New Dorp, and, in fact, 
during his whole life, always with and for his family. When 
he left Staten Island, on his father's accession to the control of 
Harlem, he had by his own efforts enlarged his farm to three 
hundred and fifty acres, re-built his house, now one of the 
finest farm-houses of Richmond county, and his produce was 
yielding him $1,000 a month or §12,000 a year. 

The construction of the Staten Island railroad shortly before 
the war was a scheme in which Mr. Vanderbilt had deeply inter- 
ested himself. This thoroughfare ]3roved of great convenience, 
especially to the farmers and residents in the southern portion 
of the island, but owing to bad management it was soon over- 
laden with debt, and it became necessary to place it in the 
hands of a receiver. Through his father's influence, who was 
then a principal stockholder, he was appointed to the ijlace. 
He had no experience as a manager, but he began by applying 
rnles of common sense to the task before him ; and at last suc- 
ceeded, by reducing expenses, stopping leaks, discovering new 
sources of patronage, and connecting the road with New York 
city by an independent line of ferries, in i^lacing the company 
on such a footing that its stock, from being valueless, rose to 
$175 a share. All this was accomplished in two years, and as a 
result Mr. Vanderbilt was made president of the road. 

From this time forward, the commodore looked upon his son 



598 HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

with more favor. He soon afterward sent him to Europe to look 
after a brothei", Captain George Vanderbilt, whose health had 
been wrecked in the war of the rebellion, and who had been 
spending a year in the Riviera. This young man, his father's 
favorite, died at Paris, not long after his brother's arrival, and 
subsequently William occupied his place in the paternal affec- 
tions. When his father assumed control of the Harlem Rail- 
road he was made vice-president, and the management of the 
commodore's schemes for the imjirovement of the property were 
all intrusted to his care. He soon after became vice-president of 
the Hudson River Railroad, and on the consolidation of the lat- 
ter with the New York Central he was elected vice-president of 
the combined system. He put into operation the same methods 
in the reconstruction of these roads which had been used by him 
with such success in that of the Staten Island road. Expenses 
were reduced to a minimum ; old ties and old cars were burnt 
and replaced with new material ; ornaments were removed from 
locomotives, superfluous and incompetent employees and officers 
were either dispensed with entirely or replaced by men whose 
ability was undoubted, and who, together with the intelligence 
which directed their movements, made the Vanderbilt system 
of railroads what it is today — the finest and most thoroughly 
equipped in the world. Its value was so greatly enhanced by 
Mr. Vanderbilt's management that, although the amount of stock 
was nearly doubled, its selling price was increased from S~5 to 
$200 a share. 

In superintending his father's roads, Mr. Vanderbilt was me- 
thodical and industrious, and in familiarizing himself with 
routine work he gave attention to the minutest details. He 
carefully investigated every department of the vast machinery 
under his charge, and probably no railroad manager in the 
country ever became more conversant with the necessities of his 
roads than did he. Together with his father, he controlled the" 
great trunk line to Chicago with an ability never before mani- 
fested, and his addition to the New York Central railroad of 
two extra tracks for freight, made that road the greatest com- 
mercial highway in the country. 

At the age of fifty-five, on his father's death, Mr. Van- 
derbilt became the possessor of the greater part of his estate 
amounting to nearly 890,000,000. The interests which the com- 
modore held seemed to render this disposition of his fortune 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. SQQ 

necessary, and the wisdom of bis will has been many times re- 
cognized by the American public since his death. The passage 
of this immense amount from father to son was unaccompanied 
by any downward tendency of values, and was managed by Mr. 
Vanderbilt with such ability that it created no iar or friction in 
financial circles. He at once became president of all the roads 
of which he had before been vice-president; but his relation to 
affairs remained substantially the same. 

The first year after his father's death was signalized by vig- 
orous rate cutting among the trunk lines in west bound freight. 
Mr. Vanderbilt from the first looked for a peaceful solution of , 
the difficulty, and his suggestion in favor of a compromise was 
finally adopted. But trouble in this direction was hardly over 
when the railroad strikes and riots began. The cutting of rates 
had been the cause of reduced wages, and ten percent, had been 
taken from the employees of the Vanderbilt roads. At the 
time Mr. Vanderbilt was at Saratoga, from which place, appre- 
hending an outbreak, he sent out a proclamation to the effect 
that the IVew York Central would give to those in its employ, 
the departmental and clerical forces excepted, $100,000, to be 
divided ratably. He also promised a restoration of old rates as 
soon as the br;siness of the road warranted the action. This 
quieted the appi'ehensions of his employees, and subsequently 
no difficulty of the kind has been known on any road under his 
control. 

In the life of a man of Mr. Vanderbilt' s prominence, im- 
portant events follow each other rapidly. No sooner liad the 
last mentioned trouble been obviated than an attempt was made 
by one or two of the commodore's heirs to break his will. The 
interests which he had at stake compelled Mr. Vanderbilt to 
defend himself to the extent of convincing aspiring contestants 
that his position was entirely tenable. When he had gained 
this point, however, he brought the suit to a peaceable termina- 
tion by compromise. To his epileptic brother, Cornelius J., he 
gave §1,000,000, and to each of his sisters 8500,000, in addition 
to the amounts already given them by the will of their father. 

After the commodore's death, Mr. Vanderbilt completed the 
purchase of the Canada Southern Eailroad. This, together with 
other acquisitions which he made, added. considerably to his 
already immense income; and he soon began at Fifth avenue 
and Fifty-first street the construction of the elegant residence 



600 lIISTOItY OF RICHMOND COrNTY. 

in which he died, and descriptions of which have been plenti- 
fully circulated in the newspa]jers ever since its completion. 
Work was begun on the building in 1879, and was pushed with 
such energy that the structure was completed in two years. 
Six hundred workmen were employed upon it and sixty sculp- 
tors, brought especiall}^ from Europe, were kept busy during 
the same length of time. The cost of the double home was 
§2,000,000, and the art gallery was furnished at an additional 
exi)ense of 81,500,000. The collection of paintings, two hun- 
dred in number, representing the best modern artists of France, 
is said to he the most complete in the world. Mr. Vander- 
bilt gave much attention to its construction, as a result of which 
he proba1>ly secured for himself the finest private residence in 
America. 

The love of Mr. Vanderbilt for out door exercises, and especi- 
ally for fast driving, was a theme of conversation in sporting 
circles, not only throughout this country but also in Europe. 
After the decease of his father he essayed to take his place upon 
the road. He bought Lady Mac to match with Small Hopes, 
and astonished the public by driving the team to a top road 
wagon over the Fleetwood park course in 2.23^. This was the 
beginning of the rage for fast teams. Others competed with 
Mr. Vanderbilt, and the excitement on the boulevards and 
avenues above Central Park was unprecedented. Discovering 
that Small Hopes and Lady Mac would not be able to main- 
tain his prestige, he secured Aldine and Early Rose, which 
were driven together at Hartford in 2.16^. Shortly afterward 
Frank Work's team beat the record, and on June 14th, 1883, 
Mr. Vanderbilt took Ids fastest ride behind his team, Maud S. 
and Aldine. in 2.1.5+, the wagon together with himself weighing 
four hundred pounds. This time has never been beaten. Among 
other fast horses which Mr. Vanderbilt owned were Leander 
and Lysander, and Bay Dick and Charles Dickens. 

It is not nor will it ever be known how much Mr. Vanderbilt 
gave to charities. His method of doing this was so secretive 
that his contributions seldom reached the public ear. His hand 
was constantly in his pocket. Realizing the fact that he had 
duties toward those who were less fortunate than himself, he 
jjerformed them without hesitation. Old friends of his father 
who were ueedy. employees of the Central suddenly afflicted or 
disabled, he helped without stint. He added §200,000 to the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 601 

endowment of the Vanderbilt University, and gave $100,000 for 
the Theological school. The latter went to build a hall which 
was dedicated on the donor's birthday, May 8, 1881. Two 
weeks before his death he gave $10,000 for the formation of a 
library for use at the university. No one was more sensitive 
to public opinion than was he. He studiously avoided public 
honors, and always gave, where he could, to already established 
institutions. In pursuance of this custom he gave to the 
"College of Physicians and Surgeons" §500,000, to which his 
daughter, Mrs. Sloan, and her husband, William J. Sloan, one 
year later added 8250,000. At the time of the Grant- Ward 
failure, he made strenuous efforts, without avail, to induce Gen- 
eral Grant to accept as a gift §150,000 previously loaned him, 
but which obligation the general through unforseen difBculties 
had been unable to meet. Among his minor gifts were $50,000 
to remove the debt of the church of St. Bartholomew and 
$10,000 to the Deem's fund for the education of poor young 
men at the University of North Carolina. He also con- 
tributed to the University of Virginia, and made innumerable 
private donations of which the public has no knowledge. In 
his will he left $900,000 to charity, and it is said that the last 
check signed by him, within three hours of his death, was for 
a charitable object. When spoken to in regard to the re- 
moval of the obelisk to this country from Egyjjt, he immedi- 
atelj' agreed to bear the expense, amounting to more than 
§100,000. 

In his latter days Mr. Vanderbilt' s health became much im- 
paired, and he was disposed to lean upon his sons for counsel 
and advice. He also took frequent and more extended vaca- 
tions, sometimes going to Eurojie and returning on the same 
steamer. It was partly for this reason, and partly to silence the 
senseless clamor of the socialistic elements of society, that he 
sold $35,000,000 of the New York Central stock, which he ac- 
complished at one time without weakening its value or depress- 
ing the money market. This immense number of shares was 
l^urchased by a syndicate composed of the following: J. S. 
Morgan & Co., of London, Drexel, Morgan & Co., August 
Belmont & Co., L. Van Hoffman & Co., Morton, Bliss & Co., 
Winslow, Lanier & Co., Edwin D. Morgan, Cyrus W. Field, 
Jay Gould, Russell Sage and others. They took 250,000 shares 
at 8120, ten points l)elow the market price, on condition that 



602 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COXJNTT. 

the syndicate should have a corresponding representation in the 
directory of the Central, and that Mr. Yanderbilt should not 
l)lace any of the stock of the road upon the market for one 
year. The $35,000,000 thus withdrawn was promptly reinvested 
in government bonds, which, together with moneys already 
X>laced in the same manner made a total of $53,000,000 in gov- 
ernment bonds, of which Mr. Vanderbilt was the possessor. 

During the construction of the " JS^ickel Plate" railroad, Mr. 
Vanderbilt' s interests compelled him to make every effort to 
prevent its completion. Finally, when these failed, he purchased 
the road. His second son, William K., carried on the negotia- 
tions, and was shortly afterward elected its president. After 
this transaction, on May 3d, 1883, Mr. Vanderbilt resigned the 
presidencies of the various railroads of which for more than six 
years he had been the honored head. The event was heralded 
by the press in all parts of the world, and various reasons were 
assigned for the action. The truth of the matter was simply 
that he was overworked and his health fatally impaired. De- 
cember 8, 1885, three years after his resignation, he died at 
his home in New York city, of paralysis, a second attack. 

His latest operations were made in Chicago & Northwest- 
ern, Omaha and F'hiladelphia & Reading. He also arranged 
the details of the purchase of the bankrupt West Shore rail- 
road. 

Mr. Vanderbilt left behind him his wife, four sons and four 
daughters. He had more than doubled the fortune left him by 
his father, and was reputed at the time of his death to be worth 
in the neighborhood of §-2()0,O00,O00. The manner in which this 
was invested admitted of a more equal distribution than his 
father had been enabled to make of his estate ten years before, 
and of the eight children surviving him, not one received less 
than $10,000,000. The two eldest sons, Cornelius and William 
K., however, inherited the bulk of the fortune, amounting to 
nearly $120,000,000. Of the two, the oldest, Cornelius, now in 
his forty-second year and worth probably $80,000,000, is prop- 
erly recognized as his father's chief successor. He has long 
been looked upon in the financial world as a young man of far- 
seeing and correct judgment, and he has already evinced great 
skill and ability in his management of his immense estate. 

In concluding this sketch of two individuals whose names 
during the last half century of the country's history have at- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 603 

tracted so much attention and inquiry, it is perhaps proper for 
us to glance a moment at the qualities which succeeded ingath- 
ering, and those which retained this greatest of all the vast 
estates of which the world has any knowledge. 

Commodore Yanderbilt, the founder, was a poor farmer's 
son. He inherited a strong physique, indomitable energy and 
an earnestness of purpose which is noticable through his whole 
business career. To these he added ambition; one which en- 
abled him to laugli at obstacles and even at defeat, and carried 
for him many points which, had they gone adversely, might 
have ruined his prospects forever. Armed thus, and with an 
intelligence capable of grasping with ease problems which had 
been the bane of linanciers and statesmen for years, he stepped 
upon the field of action at a time when the present all-pervad- 
ing spirit of mercantileism was in its infancy. The first issue 
which stared him squarely in the face was the necessity for hard 
work and earnest endeavor in his own behalf. Where others 
might have bemoaned the ill fortune which compelled the ac- 
tion, he accepted the world for just what it was, strove vigor- 
ously, and, seizing the tide of fortune at the ebb, marched on to 
usefulness and to success. No man ever exercised a more im- 
portant influence on the times in which he lived than did he. 
Many passages of his life read like romances and suggest the 
providence of the Almighty in placing such a man in such a 
position. For many years he busied himself in providing ways 
and means for the transportation of population and commerce 
to and from his native laud, and finally, when he found the in- 
ternal highways of his country blocked and in the hands of 
wreckers, he made his entry upon the scene, and like the hero 
in the play, struck boldly at the evil, and provided a sure 
remedy. He and such as he are in the highest sense useful. 
They may acquire fortunes which are looked upon by large 
numbers with envious eyes, but they give to the state what they 
can never take away, far-reaching prosperity resting on a basis 
sound as their own judgment. 

No less useful, but far different in his characteristics, was the 
commodore's favored son and heir. The father was cold, gruff 
and inclined to argument; the son the direct opposite in every 
respect. Each seems to have been made for a special sphere in 
life, and each to have occupied it. It is doubtful whether or 
not, had the commodore lived till now, his naturally uncom- 



604 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

promising disposition would have been able to deal as success- 
fnlly with the railroad strikes, the Nickel Plate and West Shore 
difficulties, or even the cutting of west-bound freight rates, as 
did his son. That he would have met these troubles there is 
no doubt, but his disposition would probably have led him to 
fight them all to the bitter end, a course which, in the present 
state of the country and of the transportation system, would 
have proved a mistake. William H.Vanderbilt left behind him 
the record of a life well led, a course well run. His lat- 
ter days were not his happiest. The great fortune in his 
hands was not a means of comfort. It weighed heavily 
upon him as a public trust, and not as a source of pri- 
vate gratification. He finally sank with a sigh of relief, 
wearied beneatli its weight. How api^ropriate that he should 
be buried on Staten Island in sight of the very home in 
which he spent so many happy hours with his loving wife 
and children bj' his side. The same breezes which, as they 
pass the vaults and headstones of gamblers and railroad wreck- 
ers, shriek and groan disapprobation, smile as they take from 
the costly mausoleum at New Dorp the clear records of Com- 
modore Vanderbilt and his son and hurry them on to their de- 
scendants in the metropolis beyond. A heritage of usefulness 
such as they left to their children is of more value, and will be 
justly considered so by thoughtful and conscientious people, 
than all the dollars which Providence has placed in their hands. 

Captain Jacob Hand Vanderbilt was born on the eastern 
shore of Staten Island, on September 2, 1807. His ancestors 
were of Dutch origin, and had resided on the island from the 
earliest times. A few year's before his birth, his father, Cor- 
nelius Vanderbilt, had removed from the north shore, where 
he had lived on the site of the present residence of Read Bene- 
dict, Esq., and where the captain's brother, Cornelius, had been 
born in 1794. The homestead on the eastern shore was located 
on the west side of the shore road, in the settlement now known 
Stapleton, and adjoined, on the south, the site upon which Com- 
modore Cornelius Vanderbilt subsequently built a residence 
for himself. Connected with it was a farm of about forty 
acres, extending to the south and west. 

In those early days of Staten Island neighbors were few, and 
life quiet and simple. 

Between Duxbnry's Point, a short distance north of the 





r 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 605 

United States Lighthouse grounds, and the Narrows there were 
but twelve houses, and these were occupied by farmers, who 
also took no small interest in the neighboring fisheries. 

The meal and Hour for family use were ground at the Clove 
mill or by the tide mill on the South beach, and each farmer 
supplied l\is family with meat from his own cattle. 

Doctors and lawyers were very few and rarely employed ; 
there were no shops on the island, and the pedlar with his 
pack, or the merchants of the neighboring city, who were visited 
once or twice a year, supplied the various necessary articles 
which a farming and fishing community could not produce. 

A conch shell, sounded in the morning toward the hills from 
the little wharf in front of the Vanderbilt homestead, hastened 
the pace of the farm horse or the feet of the laggard that 
bore to the ferry the traveller to the city. 

The undecked periauger of farmer Vanderbilt, Senior, with its 
two lug sails, would at last draw out from the shore, perhaps 
have a brush with the rival boat of his near neighbor. Van 
Duzer, and then settle down with a steady favoring breeze for 
a six mile run to Whitehall slip in the city, or, perhaps, a slow 
trij) in a calm over the Jersey shallows where oars and poles 
furnished the motive power. 

Mrs. Phebe Vanderbilt, the mother, was a woman of ability, 
force of character and piety. In her co-operation her husband 
always felt that he had a powerful resource, and to the quali- 
ties which she transmitted to her two sons they have been 
largely indebted for the prominence and influence which they 
subsequently attained. 

Under these influences of surrounding nature and domestic 
life young Caj^tain Vanderbilt grew up, acquiring the common 
school education of the times, and at an early age began to 
"follow the water." 

At the age of eighteen he had risen to the command of a 
steamboat, and from that time onward he rose steadily in the 
importance of his business engagements and adventures, which 
were chiefly connected with the conduct of steamboat lines on 
Long Island sound, the Connecticut and Hudson rivers. 

In 1834 he married Euphemia Maria Banta, a descendant of 
General Israel Putnam, whose personal and mental charms, 
joined with her widespread benevolence, made her a leader in 
society and, at the same time, beloved of the poor and dis- 



606 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

tressed, from an early age until her death which occui'red in 
1877. 

Three of Captain Vanderbilt's children are living: a son, 
bearing his own name ; Ellen, widow of Herman D. Cfesar, son 
of Senator Cfesar, of Bremen, and Clara, wife of James Mc- 
Namee, of the bar of New Y(jrk. 

Since the close of the rebellion Captain Yanderbilt has lived 
in a beautiful home, known as "Clove Hill," on the heights of 
Staten Island, in retirement from business, excepting that, in- 
stead of completely ceasing from the activity of a long and 
busy life, he hlled for nearly twenty years before 1884 the ]iosi- 
tion of president of the Staten Island East Shore railroad and 
ferry. 

Many of his contemporaries have passed away and men of 
different training and stamp have come and are coming upon 
the scene of business life, but to his many friends and acquain- 
tances, who yet survive out of the multitude that have known 
him. Captain Yanderbilt will always be known as a man of ac- 
tion, sturdy integrity, modest disposition, yet great force of 
character, kind heart, notwithstanding a certain direct and 
sometimes brusque address, and always a comforter of the 
desponding. 

His love of horses is well known, and the furious speeding of 
his favorite trotters over the "Lane," in New York city, and on 
the roads of Staten Island will long be remembered. 

The old-fashioned race of native Americans, to whose laboi', 
energy, disdain of ease and hatred of underhand business 
methods this country is indebted for its foundations, has nearly 
passed away. 

To this class of men Captain Yanderbilt belongs, and to those 
who know him and the history of his life, he is to-day the most 
picturesque and interesting figure among all the residents of 
his native island. 

The Yan Name Family.* — The family of Yan Names, from 
tradition, originally came from Holland, and the exact time 
they came to Staten Island seems to be unknown, as it appears 
no record can be produced to establish their authenticity of set- 
tlement. This much we must rely upon from a church record 
produced from Mr. John J. Clute's statement, which, however, 
is incomplete in many instances. 

* By David M. Van Name. 



HISTORY OF RICH.MOND COUNTY. 607 

The earliest mentioned, according to the records, is Evert, 
who married Wintje (Wilhelmina) Benham. Tlie number of 
children by tlie union is not known, unless the subsequent 
names taken from the records are his, which seems quite proba- 
ble. These were : a son Joseph, baptized April 22. 1709 ; a 
daughter August 31, 1718; Simon, born October 29, 1713: Sarah, 
born August lo. 1717 (this was probably the daughter above 
baptized); Aaron. August 11, 1718; and Moses, February 8, 
1725. There also appear under the same, other members. For 
instance, Simon and Sarah Frail had a daughter baptized Octo- 
ber 80, 1716, which might possibly have l)een brother to Evert; 
also an Englebert mari'ied to Maria DeCamp; son John baptized 
April 12, 1719; twin daughters, October 15, 1721; and a Johan- 
nes had a son Peter, baptized May 18, 1718. According to dates, 
Aaron and Simon must have been brothers, there being about 
five years difference between their ages. 

Aaron and Mary McLean had the following children : Aaron, 
Catharine, Simon, William, Ann, Moses and Charles. 

Moses (the son of Aaron) married Mary La Grange, and they 
had the following children : John, Mary, Moses, Elizabeth, 
Catharine, Michael, Sophia, Rachel, Aaron and Charles. Charles 
(the son of Moses), married Elizabeth Mersereau, only daughter 
of Judge Paul Mersereau, by whom he had the following child- 
ren : Joseph H.. Paul M., David M., Nancy M. and George W. 
David M. (son of Charles) mai-ried Sarah M. Wyckoff, of Xew 
Brunswick, New Jersey. 

Charles, son of Aaron (who was a son of Simon), made his 
will April 8, 1805, which was probated May 21, 1805, in which 
he mentions his sons Anthony and Aaron, both minors. 

Aaron, last named (son of Charles), had a son Cornelius, who 
married Rebecca Corson ; the last named were the parents of 
William Henry Van Name (now deceased", who married Eliza- 
beth Ann, only daughter of Benjamin Decker, of Mariners' 
Harbor, and had one child. Counselor Calvin D. Van Name, of 
Mariners' Harbor. 

Moses (son of Aaron) was born February 23, 1760, married 
June 9, 1782, died October 16, 1811 ; Mary La Grange (wife 
of Moses) was born September 8, 1763, married June 9, 1782, 
died February 3, 1846 : John (son), was born June 18, 1783, 
married Elizabeth Wright, died April 1, 1853 ; Mary was born 
July 19. 1785, married April 15, 1803, to Edward De Hart, died 



608 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

January 13, 1870 ; Moses was born April 9, 1788, married Janu- 
ary 2S, 1811, to Mary Pierson, died July 28, 1871 ; Elizabeth 
was born June 30, 1790, married to Matthias De Hart, died July 
25, 1873 ; Catharine was born February 16, 1793, married De- 
cember 1, 1811, to Henry Simonson, died July 27, 1869; Michael 
was born November 14, 1795, married April 20, 1817, to Ger- 
trude Cortelyou, died June 5, 1883 ; Sophia was born August 
29, 1798, married October, 1816, to William Lake ; Rachel was 
born March 10, 1801, married September 4, 1821, to Peter Thatch- 
er, died 1885; Aaron was born October 1, 1803, married January 
24, 1827, to Mary Mersereau, died July, 1882 ; Charles was born 
August 25, 1806, married November, 1832, to Elizabeth Merse- 
reau (cousin to Mary), and died July 15, 1883. This generation 
have all died, excepting Mary (wife of Aaron) and Elizabeth 
(wife of Charles). 

The family of Charles Van Name.— Charles (son of JMoses) 
and Elizabeth, his wife, had the following children : Joseph H., 
born March 27, 1835, married December 31, 1856, to Caroline 
Gibson ; Paul M., born June 12, 1837, married July 3, 1860, to 
Elizabeth Scott, of New Jersey ; she departed this life March 
4, 1872. 

Family of John Van Name.— John Van Name (son of Moses), 
born June 18, 1783, married January 8, 1809, to Elizabeth 
Wright, died April 1, 1853 ; Elizabeth, his wife, born July 2, 
1792, died May 22, 1875. Their children were: Mary La Grange, 
born October 12, 1809 ; Caleb Halsey, born February 7, 1813 ; 
Judy Johnson, born September 2, 1815 (now dead) ; Moses J., 
born March 9, 1818 ; Catherine, born October 27, 1820 ; Sophia 
Lake, born May 9, 1823 ; John Poiner, born February 2, 1826 ; 
Andrew Wright, born July 11, 1828; Elizabeth Jane, born April 
28, 1831, died May 23, 1855 ; Charles Joseph, born January 28, 
1834. 

David M. (son of Charles), born January 1, 1840, married 
November 18, 1869, to Sarah M. Wyckoff, of ISew Brunswick, 
N. J.; Nancy M., born November 24, 1842, married May 10, 
1865, to John Todd Crittenden, of Virginia ; George W., born 
October 20, 1845, married April 10, 1870, to Kate A. Van Name. 
She departed this life April 10, 1881. 

The family of David M.Van Name. —David M. and Sarah M., 
his wife, had the following children : Travilla, born October 1, 
1870 ; Lizzie Irene, born April 3, 1872 ; Ada D., born February 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 609 

11. 1876 ; Florence Adelaide, born September 20, 1879 ; Sara 
Vida, born June 14, 1882. 

Family of Joseph H. Van Name.— Joseph H. and wife had 
one child,- a son George, who married Louisa Ricard. 

Familj' of Paul M. Van Name.— Paul M. and wife had the 
following children: Alice Jane, married to Thomas Simonson; 
Charles Winfield (dead); Edward Everett; Zenetta, married to 
A. Lnske; Frances Marion; Paul M. (dead), and Charlotte 
(dead). The last two were twins. 

Family of Nancy M. Crittenden.— Nancy M. and husband 
had the following children: Pauline, born July 28, 1866; J. 
Howard, born November 7, 1871. 

Family of George W. Van Name. — George W. and wife had 
the following children: Edgar, Irving and Pearly Louise. 

The family of Van Names have ranked as a very prominent 
class of people from the ancient name in Holland down to the 
present day, and have lived and labored mostly during all these 
years at their island home of nativity. Charles was a merchant 
for forty years, and educated his sons in the same line. Joseph 
H. and George W. are pursuing the course of their father, 
Paul M. may be found at Jewett's white lead factory, and David 
M. is a commission merchant in New York city. Charles was 
supervisor of the town of Northtield during the late civil war. 
He was always active, and discharging his duties in the most 
honorable manner, was beloved by his towns-people and re- 
marked for his courteousness with all. 

Van Pelt. — We read of individuals of this name in New 
Utrecht several years before we meet the name in connection 
with Staten Island. Thus, Wouter (Walter), Anthony and Aert 
Van Pelt are mentioned as early as 1687, living on Long Island. 
The first Van Pelt we meet in the Staten Island records is Hen- 
drick, who had seven children born between 1696 and 1701. He 
was probably connected with the Long Island families, as we 
find their names perpetuated on Staten Island. At or about the 
same time there was a Peter Van Pelt, who had a son Jan bap- 
tized October 21, 1707, and a son Samuel July 25, 1710. This 
John and Jannetje (Janet) Adams had: A daughter, baptized 
March 28, 1736; a son William, April 13, 1742, and a daughter, 
April, 1744. Jacob and Aaltje (Alida) Haughwout, his wife, 
had a son John, baptized October 15, 1727, and a daughter Cat- 
alyntje, September 27, 1724. John and Susanna Latourette, 

39 



610 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

his wife, had twins, John and Susanna, baptized May 2.5, 1729. 
Tunis and Maria Drageau. his wife, had the following children: 
Anthony, baptized October 9, 1729; Johannes, baptized Febru- 
ary 14, 1731; Maria, baptized June 3, 1734; Joost, baptized May 
19, 1737, and Tunis, baptized November 19, 1738. 

Peter had a son William, baptized November 23, 1715; a son 
Samuel, April 16,"1717. Simon and Maria Adams had a son Peter, 
baptized May 23, 1749, and a daughter, April 18, 1743. John (An- 
thony's) son and Susanna Latourette, his wife, had Joost, bap- 
tized April 4, 1736, and Anthony, baptized April 30, 1733. This 
Anthony married Janneke Simonson, and had a daughter, bap- 
tized June 11, 1760. Peter and Barber Houlton had a daughter, 
baptized April 18, 1743, and a son David, baptized October 12, 
1755. Jan and Maria Bouman had a daughter, baptized September 
14, 1742. Jan, Jr., and Catrina Bouman had a daughter, baptized 
May 6, 1745. John had a daughter, baptized October 29, 1787. 
Samuel, son of Peter, mentioned above, and Maria Falkenburg 
had a son Pieter, baptized July 19, 1748. Aart and Christina 
Immet, daughter Maria, baptized December 10, 1721. John and 
Margaret, his wife, had the following children: Tunis, born Au- 
gust 8, 1760; John, born February 10, 1765; James, born May 
13, 1761, and Peter, born November 13, 1769. Peter and Phebe 
had a son Tunis, born June 6, 1768. Anthony and Susanna had 
a daughter Susanna, born May 10, 1766, and a son George, born 
March 1, 1769. 

Joseph and Elizabeth had a son James, born August 5, 1767, 
and a son Tunis, born December 2, 1771. John and Catharine 
Lawrence had a daughter Mary, baptized March 8, 1772. Jacob 
and Elizabeth had a daughter Mary, born March 11, 1768. 
Peter, son of John and Margaret, above, married Mary Colon, 
December 5. 1797. David and Hannah Wright married June 
21, 1801. He was born in February, 1779, and died March 30, 
1838. 

Wandel. — The first of the name in our county records is 

John, who, with his wife Letitia, executed a mortgage to 

Groom, May 1, 1767, and cancelled it by payment the next 
year. He was a cordwainer by trade, and carried on the tan- 
ning business on Todt hill. John and Letitia had a son Peter, 
bornjJanuary 10, 1766. Peter married Sarah Van Clief in March, 
1789, and died May 17, 1857, over 91 years of age. His sons 




X 





^ 




HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 611 

were Matthew, Daniel, John, Peter S. and Walter I., the latter 
only still living, April, 1876. 

Hon. Albert Ward. -The late Hon. Albert Ward, first 
judge of the Eichmond county court of common pleas, was a 
descendant of the Ward family of Westchester county, N.Y., 
a family of such distinction and patriotism during the war 
of independence as to win extended notice from its local his- 
torians.* 

The family -was originaly English. Its first representative in 
this country, Andrew Ward of Watertown, Mass., freeman, 
1634, came with the first settlers to Connecticut, was elected a 
magistrate in 1636, removed to Long Island in 1643, and became 
a resident of Fairfield, Conn., in 1649. His eldest son, Edmund, 
removed to East Chester in Westchester county, K". Y., where 
Edmund's eldest son, also named Edmund, was brought up 
and afterward distinguished himself as a member of the 
'•Colonial Assembly." Hon. Stephen Ward, second son of 
the lattei', was judge of the county of Westchester and the 
owner of the famous " Ward Mansion " in East Chester, which 
became the headquarters of the American troops and the scene 
of many bloody engagements. He was liroscribed by the loyal- 
ists, and a bounty was set upon his head, because of his pat- 
riotism and devotion to the colonial cause. Stephen Ward was 
the father of James Ward who married Phoebe, sister of Daniel 
D. Tompkins, governor of New York state, and afterward vice- 
president of the United States. Caleb T. Ward was a son of 
James and Phoebe (Tompkins) Ward and the father of Judge 
Ward of whom we write. 

Caleb T. Ward was a man of careful business habits and a 
worthy representative of the noble and self-denying family 
from which he came. His only son, Albert, was born in the city 
of New York November 27, 1816; and a few years later Caleb 
and his family removed to Staten Island, where he built the 
" Ward Mansion" on the hill now called by the same name, 
and commanding one of the most striking and beautiful views 
on the Atlantic coast. At his death he left two children : Al- 
bert, just mentioned; and Mary Mann, to the memory of vvhum 
St. Paul's Memorial church was built. 

* The genealogy of the Ward family is given in full in Bolton's " Histoiy of 
Westchester County ; " and many interesting facts in regard to the family are 
contained in the recently published history of the county by L. E . Preston & Co. 



612 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

In his youth Albert Ward received a careful training, and 
choosing the law as his profession, was admitted to the bar, 
November 1, 1839. Subsequently, he divided his time and at- 
tention between his practice and the care of the large estate 
left him by his father, and which he largely increased by skill- 
ful management and tireless industry. March 16, 1844, he was 
appointed by the governor of New York state, first judge of the 
court of common pleas for Richmond county; and during the 
two years in which he held that office he distinguished himself 
for his ability and foresight. In 1846, the new constitution of 
the state made the office which he held, elective, and not caring 
to mix in the politics of the county he gave up the position. 

His large private interests made Judge Ward a man of infiu- 
ence, not only on Staten Island, where he owned a large proper- 
ty, but in the financial circles of New York city. He wasastocl^. 
holder in the Fulton Bank, National Park Bank, Bank of Com- 
merce, Shoe and Leather Bank, Mechanic's Bank, Metropolitan 
Bank, Bank of America, Bank of New Yorl\, Gallatin National 
Bank, United States Trust Company, Union Trust Company, 
New York Life Insurance and Trust Company, and of the 
Greenwich, Hope, Hoffman, and the Arctic fire insurance com- 
joanies. He was president of the Arctic Insurance Company, 
and a director in a number of tlie corporations above named. 

His many business associates found in him a staunch friend, 
a man whose experience taught him how to give good advice, 
and one to be always and implicitly trusted. But the chief charm 
of his character was the deep religious feeling which pervaded 
his whole life and manifested itself in all his acts. For many 
years it had been his desire to devote to the service of the Lord 
enough of his means to erect a church for the parish in which 
he had given much of his energy and thought. His gift to St. 
Paul's parish of the St. Paul's Memorial church, a beautiful and 
substantial edifice built of native granite, was the flowering of 
this generous desire. It was presented, as he says in a letter to 
the rector, dated Apnl 28, 1866, as a " memorial to an only and 
dearly beloved sister." From a sermon delivered in this church 
in memory of Judge Ward, by the rector, Reverend Albert U. 
Stanley, Advent Sunday, 1878, we quote the following : 

" His donation of this church edifice was consistent with his 
life-long interest and devotion to the parochial prosperity. 
The old records show that his father, his mother, his sister and 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 613 

himself were together baptized by the Reverend Francis H. 
Cuming the tenth of November, 1833, and that these were the 
first baptisms in this parish, then known as St. Paul's church, 
Castleton. His father, Caleb T. Ward, was one of the first 
vestrymen appointed when the parish was organized, the 11th 
of March, 1833. He himself was elected a vestryman Easter, 
1841. In 1853 he was appointed warden, an office which he 
held till the day of his death, making more than twenty-five 
years of service as warden. It would be impossible for me to 
relate in full the obligations of this parish to his wise judg- 
ment and sturdy churchly sense. But I know that once he 
stood alone in the gap, saved by his own unaided effort the 
parish from extinction, and then helped to restore the life to 
what was almost a body inanimate and motionless." 

Judge Ward was married in early life to Miss Catharine U. 
Parker, a woman of sweetness and beauty of character, as 
shown by her zeal in all works of charily and benevolence. 
She was always interested in relieving the distress and suffer- 
ing of the poor, and many will remember the help she carried 
so quietly to the homes that came to know her as an ever-ready 
messenger of peace and mercy. Sustained so amply by the 
liberal spirit of her husband she was enabled to accomplish her 
good work effectively, and to gratify her own kind and sympa- 
thetic nature. 

Toward the latter part of their married life a gradual decline 
in health left her at the last a complete invalid, and not only 
stopped her own great usefulness, but shadowed the declining 
years of her honored husband. Four children were born of 
this union : Elizabeth Parker, wife of Amos Booth ; Marj^ 
Ward, Kate Kearney Ward, and Sarah Bonnett, wife of Ed- 
ward Wanty, all of whom, with the widow, survive and reside 
on Staten Island. 

Judge Ward died at his residence in Edgewater, October 28, 
1878, and was buried beside his illustrious ancestors in the 
churchyard at East Chester. He left a very large estate in the 
village of Edgewater, consisting of land beautifully situated on 
the hills overlooking the bay and embracing the most desirable 
sites on the island. The whole estate is ably managed by 
George H. Daley, Esq., who has been its trustee since 1883. 

The death of Judge Ward closed a life, the value of which to 
the business and religious community cannot be over-estimated. 



614 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

It was a life unusually fruitful of good deeds and good results, 
and his liberal nature found expression in practical and attrac- 
tive forms, which endear his memory and ensure for him a 
lasting place in the history of the island. 

Captain Stephen Whitman, for more than ten years trus- 
tee of the village of Port Richmond, and one whose foresight 
and business ability have done much for the promotion of its 
welfare, was born in Boston, Mass., March 18, 1825. He early 
contracted a fondness for the sea, which he followed from his 
fourteenth year till he entered, in 1861, upon his present sphere 
of usefulness as a stowage and cargo inspector in New York 
city. He is at present the senior member of the firm of Whit- 
man & Fisher, doing business at 99 Peai'l street. 

Captain Whitman's talents as a seaman raised him rapidly 
from a position before the mast to one of command, and he had 
charge in his day of several famous packet ships in the New York 
and Liverpool trade and one of the smartest of the California 
clippers. He was also intrusted with the important command 
of one of the steamers of the old New York Mail Steamship 
Company, and later of steamers of the Cromwell line to New 
Orleans. A master seaman and officer, he made a reputation 
for the safety and rajiidity of his trips and obtained for himself 
a popularity among passengers seldom enjoyed by seafaring 
men. During the war of the rebellion Captain Whitman saw 
much active service, and while in the old ''Escort" he tells of 
a lively chase by the "Alabama," from which piratical craft, 
by good management, they contrived to escape. 

The captain has been an active member of the " Produce Ex- 
change" for the last thirteen years, also of the "Maritime Ex- 
change" and the "Marine Society," the latter the oldest in 
America. In 1861 he took up his residence in Port Richmond, 
where he still remains. Shortly after his arrival on Staten 
Island he purchased the property which he occupies at the 
present time, and where it is his delight to meet and entertain 
liis many friends. He is married, and has two cliildren still liv- 
ing. His genial and gentlemanly qualities, together with his 
extensive business relations, have made him well known and 
widely res^Dected both on Staten Island and in New York city. 

WiNANT. — This is one of the oldest families on the island, 
and is so ramified that it is impossible to trace all its branches 
to their sources. We select that branch which is probably best 




i^/C^ ^>i^2LX, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOI*rD COUNTY. 615 

known, and is represented by Abraham and liis brother Jacob 
G., both of whom have been sheriffs of the connty. They are 
the sons of Hon. Bornt Parlee Winant, of Rossville. His 
parents were Abraham Winant and Mary Parlee, who were 
married August 1, 1807. The father of Abraham was Winant 
Winant, who made his will July 5, 1804, which was proved 
August 11, 1804, between which dates he must have died. In 
that instrument he mentions his wife Mary, and his children 
Abraham, John G., Jacob G., Mary, Frances and Ann. The 
father of Winant Winant was Abraham, who was the son of 
the elder Winant Winant, who was the son of Peter Winant, 
the jirogenitor of the family. The following is the inscription 
ni3on his tombstone : 

" Here lies the body of Peter Winant, born in the year 1654, 
who departed this life August 6th, 1758, aged 104 years." 

He was a native of Holland, but the date of his emigration 
and settlement on the island, which are identical, has been 
lost. As his family was the only one of the name then in the 
county, the following must have been his sons, viz.: Peter, 
who had a son Peter, baptized April 23, 1707. Winant (men- 
tioned above), whose wife was Ann Cole, who had the fol- 
lowing sons baptized : Peter, March 27, 1720; Abraham, March 
24, 1725; Jacob, October 9, 1726, and Daniel, April 22, 1728. 
John, whose wife was Lena Bird, had a son Peter baptized 
March 19, 1732; and Cornelius, whose wife was Maria Cole, had 
a son Cornelius baptized February 28, 1728. 

The following are other members of the family, whose names 
we tind in the county and church records : Captain Peter, born 
December 4, 1784; he was captain of the schooner "Thames," 
which was wrecked on Absecom beach, November 4, 1823, when 
he lost his life. Peter, born October 5, 1802, died February 8, 
1867. Abraham and Mary his wife had a daughter Ann, born 
September 30, 1758, and a daughter Elizabeth, born March 3, 
1770. Daniel and Rachel his wife had a son Daniel, born May 
10, 1760. Daniel and Susannah his wife had a daughter Ann, 
born June 27, 1762. Daniel and Elizabeth his wife had a 
daughter Rachel, born October 4, 1765. Peter and Christiana 
his wife had a son George, born September 6, 1770; this George 
married Eliza Winant November 15, 1794. John and Hannah 
(or Johanna) his wife had a daughter Elizabeth, born July 29, 
1774, and a son Jacob, May 15, 1776. Peter and Charity his 



616 mSTORV OF RICHMOND COUNTi'. 

wife had a son Isaac, born February 1, 1775; this Isaac married 
Patty Winaut January 16, 1796. Peter and Ann his wife had 
two chiklren, Daniel and Ann, baptized November 20, 1785; 
Peter Winant made his will May 9, 1793, which was proved 
July 26, 1793, in which he mentions his wife Ann, his father 
Daniel, and alludes to his children without giving their names. 
Cornelius and Catharine his wife had a daughter Cornelia, bap- 
tized November 21, 1790. Peter and Mary Winant were mar- 
ried July 14, 17D0. Moses and Catharine Winant were married 
August 7, 1800. Daniel and Eliza Oakley were married Decem- 
ber 19, 1801. 

There are four ways of spelling the name of Winant, some of 
the branches have dropped, others have added a letter, but all 
trace back to the same stock. Jacob Winants, of English an- 
cestry, a wealthy farmer, was born in Westtield, Staten Island, 
in 1749, and feeling himself called to preach the Word, gave 
his life service to the Methodist church as a traveling preacher, 
often officiating in private residences, school houses and other 
places that offered. He died at the age of 76 years. He 
married in the Lawrence family, who claim to be remotely con- 
nected with the wealthy Townlej^ family of England, now under 
investigation as to who are ihe rightful heirs to inherit that 
large estate. Jacob Winants' wife's father. Doctor James Law- 
rence, was born in Newtown, Long Island, in 1732, and after- 
ward lived on Staten Island. In 1753 he married Miss Anne, 
daughter of Charles Jandine, a French Huguenot, who died in 
New York, aged 72 years. His wife died in 1807; they left two 
daughters. Sarah was born in 1759, married Joseph Ridgway, 
and died in 1823, leaving five children: Anne, Capt. Joseph, 
Mary, James and Elizabeth. The second daughter, Catherine, 
born in 1763, married Jacob Winants, and died in 1820. They 
left five children, four sons and one daughter; Elizabeth, the 
oldest, died when young. His oldest son. Captain Peter, was 
born in 1784, married Miss Fannie Ellis, daughter of Garret 
Ellis; she was born in 1785, and died in her 82d year. Captain 
Peter was an officer in the army, and served his country through 
the war of 1812, and was always found to have been a true patriot 
and ever loyal to the cause of liberty. He was shipwrecked at 
sea in 1823. By this disaster he lost his life at the age of 38 
years. He left six children, four daughters and two sons: 
Mrs. Mary Cortelyou, Mrs. Catherine Mills, Garret E., Mrs. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 617 

Laney Appleby, Mrs. Sarah Ann Gongh and Sebastian; all 
deceased except Garret E. and Mrs. Appleby, who reside at 
Bergen Point, New Jersey. Jacob Winant's second son, Daniel, 
married Miss Polly Laforge; they had three children, all de- 
ceased. Jacob Winant's third son. Captain Winant Winants, 
married Miss Mary Johnson, of Westlield; he died in 1872, aged 
83 years. They left three sons: Captain James J. Winants, of 
Rossville, S. I. ; Captain Jacob, of Jersey City, and Coi'nelius, 
of Brooklyn, all living. 

Jacob Winant's fourth son, Jacob, died in 1867, aged 67 
years, without issue. 

Garret Ellis Winants, a self-made man, was born on Staten 
Island, state of New York. He is of Dutch, English and French 
ancestry, his progenitors having emigrated to this country at 
an early date. The family name on Staten Island, where most 
are to be found, is spelled Winant; in the south, Winans; in 
the west and north, Winan. His father, Capt. Peter Winants, 
was lost at sea when young Winants was about 9 years of age, 
being shipwrecked when on a homeward voyage; the vessel and 
cargo being lost, and all the passengers and crew, except the 
mate and two sailors, finding a watery grave. By the loss of this 
vessel and cargo, of which Captain Winants was part owner, 
and upon which there was no insurance, his widow and six 
orphans were left in comparatively indigent circumstances, there 
remaining only the farm or homestead, and a few thousand dol- 
lars invested. Shortly after his decease this money was called 
in, reinvested by his widow, and subsequently lost. Through 
such a chain of disadvantageous circumstances our youthful 
subject was deprived of an early education from books. At 
that period the farmers were in the habit of employing a teacher 
onlj' through the winter season, for one quarter, or more fre- 
quently a half quarter, keeping their children on the farms the 
residue of the year, claiming it to be more profitable to keep 
their boys and girls at work during planting and harvesting 
than to allow them the privilege of education. That he has 
largely overcome this early neglect may be gathered from either 
one of his entertaining and instructive volumes, " Journal of 
Travels over the Continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, and 
the Islands of the Sea," published in 1872, "Around the World," 
published in 1877, and other works not yet in print. He is 



618 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY . 

widely known througliont New Jersey and elsewhere by his 
writings on travel. 

As he approached manhood his first choice was to follow the 
sea — a desire strongly opposed by his excellent mother, who 
did not wish to expose her only son to the possible fate of his 
father. At the age of 18 he left the parental roof to seek a 
livelihood for himself, and with a view to assist his mother, 
possessed of a limited edncation and less than a dollar in money, 
with not a friend to whom he could apply, if need be, for a loan 
of so much as ten dollars, excepting his mother, who had done 
her all. His first engagement was on a schooner as a hand be- 
fore the mast, at eight dollars per month. In the hope of hav- 
ing a nice little sum to aid his mother in running the farm, he 
allowed his wages to remain for three months, and was at that 
time deprived of them by the dishonesty of the captain. He 
next procured a berth at twelve dollars a month. He soon made, 
by his activity and perseverance, many friends, and was re- 
warded at 19 years of age by a few persons Joining together and 
building for him a freighting schooner of forty tons burden, 
named " Gilletta," with the proviso that as soon as young Wi- 
nants could pay for any part thereof he should have an interest 
therein. After some three years' struggle he succeeded in pur- 
chasing this vessel, and shortly afterward took on a cargo of 
plaster of Paris and was shipwrecked on Long Island sound, 
nearly losing his life by the disaster, which swept away his all. 
Thus he was compelled to commence the world anew; yet, with 
undaunted courage, somewhat despondent, the young captain 
after a time succeeded in building a lai'ger vessel, named " Ellis 
Amanda." From this time fortune smiled upon his efforts, 
and he continued building and buying vessels until his fleet 
numbered in all fifteen, thus enabling him to conduct a much 
larger maritime trade, some being engaged in bringing pine 
wood from Virginia, others running to Albany in the lumber 
trade, and still others in the transportation of street-sweepings 
and coal-ashes from the city of New York. 

During the rebellion Captain Winants built and equipped 
five steamboats, which he chartered to the United States gov- 
ernment for war purposes, one being placed in the revenue 
department of the port of New York, three on the coast of 
North and South Carolina and the James river, and one car- 




-A-^4^. 



'^i^^Ckyzyz-t 



HISTORT OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 619 

rying the United States military mail between New Orleans, 
Cxalveston and Brazos de Santiago. 

At the close of the war Captain Winants sold out his fleet of 
vessels and retired from active business. For several years 
previous thereto^he had the contract from New York city for 
the removal of coal-ashes and street-sweepings. He purchased 
some forty acres of water-front in Jersey city, formerly known 
as Harsimus bay, opposite the city of New York, paying there- 
for over one hundred thousand dollars. About nine-tenths 
or nioi-e of this land was covered with tide-water of the Hudson 
river, and the ordinary class of vessels sailed over it in the 
pursuit of commerce. Here he deposited the street-sweepings, 
and ashes gathered under his contract with the city of New 
York, and for more than ten years he was engaged filling in 
this land, building docks, grading, paving and sewering the 
streets rendered necessary by the impi-ovemeut, which added 
largely to the growth and revenue of Jersey city by way of 
taxes, etc. On this property are located the large terminal 
depots occupied by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 
steamship i^iers, and now there is in course of construction two 
first-class ferries, one from the foot of Cortlandt, and one from 
Debrosses street to ply between New York and this property 
in Jersey city; besides on this land are located the immense 
tobacco factory of P. Lorillard & Co., one of the largest in the 
United States, and other factories and buildings which have 
added much to the growth and prosperity both of Jersey city 
and Hudson county. 

There was one who, while living, gave impress to the state, 
who at every fitting opportunity testified to the character of 
Mr.Winants,'and was his warm and devoted friend, viz., ''Hon. 
Dudley S. Gi'egory." Mr. Gregory was himself a self-made 
man, and his sympathies always leaned toward such, and he 
was also a large land-holder in Jersey city, who highly com- 
mended the matured plans and enterprise of Mr. Winants, 
which gave development to Jersey city and atti'acted to its 
water front the steamships of Europe and commerce of the old 
world. This property, once covered with water, comparatively 
worthless, is rapidly increasing in value, a large part of which 
Mr. Winants still retains. He is also a large owner of real 
estate in the city of New York, Plainfield city, Elizabeth city, 
Hudson city, Hoboken citj-, and Bergen Point, N. J., to which 



620 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

latter place he came in May, 1872, and where he now resides. 

He married February 10, 1841, Miss Amanda, danghter of 
James Miller and Abigail Birdge. They had four children; one 
daughter, Mary Frances, who died in 1872; and three sons, 
James M., Ellis Sebastian, and John Frederick, the two latter of 
whom died in early childhood. Mary Frances married George 
H. Hillyer, who also died in 1877, leaving two sons, Clarence 
W. and Frank Ellis Hillyer. 

Upon retiring from active business in 1862, Mr. Winants 
devoted much time to travelling, and in company with his wife 
made several lengthy tours, one around the world, traversing 
some twenty-seven thousand five hundred miles ; another over 
the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and the islands of the 
sea, embracing some twenty thousand miles; still another tour 
through Central America, and along the border of South Amer- 
ica, up the Pacific coast to San Francisco, crossing the continent, 
covering about eleven thousand miles; besides travelling in and 
through the West and East India islands, Mexico, Canada, and 
have seen every state in the Union, except Kansas, of which they 
made the circuit twice, and passing through several of the terri- 
tories, in all traversing about one hundred and thirty thousand 
miles, seeing many of the wonders and glories of the natural 
world. On his extensive tours he was shipwrecked twice and 
railroad-wrecked three times, and escaped without any bodily 
harm having befallen him. During their travels Mr. Winants 
kept a daily record, in accordance with a habit of some forty 
years past, part of which he has given to the world in two hand- 
some volumes, elaborately illustrated, full of valuable and 
instructive information, written in a clear, forcible and interest- 
ing mannei'. 

In former years, while a resident of New York city, Mr. Wi- 
nants took an active part in politics, but had no aspiration to 
office, and on two occasions was tendered by the democratic 
party the nomination for alderman, and could have held other 
important places for trust had he desired, but all of these he re- 
fused to accept and now favors men in preference to party. As a 
director of the Union Dime Savings Bank of New York for thir- 
teen years he aided largely in strengthening that successful insti- 
tution. He is an elder in the Dutch Reformed church, president 
of the board of the American Bible Society of Hudson county, X. 
J.; member of the supervisory board of trustees of thetheologi- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 621 

cal seminary at New Brunswick; also trustee in the board of 
domestic missions, delegate to the general synod and one of the 
principal financial pillars in that denomination. 

Mr. Winants' paternal grandfather, Jacob Winants, a wealthy 
farmer of Staten Island, felt himself called to preach the Word, 
aud gave his life service to the Methodist church as a travelling 
preacher, refusing to accept financial aid, but only souls for 
his hire, and from him our subject would seem to have inherited 
similar desires. He has given largely of his abundant means 
to the church and kindred associations, irrespective of sect or 
creed, besides educating young men for the ministry. The ma- 
ternal grandfather of Mr. Winants, Captain Garret Ellis, was 
one of the heroes of the war of 1776, always an uncom- 
promising patriot, and ever loyal to the cause of liberty. Mr. 
Winants' father, Capt. Peter Winants, was of similar patriotic 
heart, and served his country through the war of 1812, follow- 
ing in the steps of his ancestors witii unflinching faith. During 
our last war, beginning in 1861, G. E. Winants, though not go- 
ing to the war himself, when the nation was in distress and 
needed the full support of all loyal citizens, gave substantial 
aid in the interests of the Union armies by his means and coun- 
sel, and thus was one of the pillars to support every measure 
of the government to suppress the rebellion. 

The writer is largely indebted to Ex-Governor Bedle and 
Hon. A. A. Hardenbergh, of New Jersey, for the material facts 
of this sketch, and they saj' of him, "It is impossible to do 
justice to a character which has made so strong an impress upon 
his fellows." Men of his marked characteristics have acquired 
fame, aud their names have been repeated by history. Bold, 
honest, defiant in his nature, as befits his physical manhood, 
yet kind and genial in his disposition, it may well be said of 
him, 

" None know him but to love him, 

None name him but to jjraise." 

t 
And yet why is this; we may be asked, but the answer 

is readily found; wealth and affluence have detracted nothing 
from the sincerity of his character, nor have circumstances or 
position palsied any energy in his devotion to the common weal 
through life. Charity never fails in its mission when Mr. Wi- 
nants is required to set his seal upon the act, and the young 
and timid in the race of life gather from his kindly spoken 



622 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

words at once a benediction and blessing. There is something 
heroic in the strong and stalwart man who has achieved snccess 
on the battlelield of life, still more so when snch snccess has been 
marked by devotion to principle, when its honors are gathered 
beyond the voice of criticism, and its monuments are found in 
missions of public benevolence, and the daily exercise of hid- 
den deeds of kindness. Besides being devoted to his family 
and faithful to his friends, he has always been full of energy 
and enterprise, and readj' to make sacrifices when demanded for 
the public good. It is by such self-made men that the charac- 
ter of the community is conserved, the better interest of the 
state made safe, and the happiness of the republic assured; if 
it be not so, we may have but limited faith in our republican 
institutions. 

"WoGLOM. — This name was originally written " Van Woge- 
lum." John sold land in 1696; this is the earliest mention of 
the name in the local records; the next is Grysie Woggelum, 
who was witness at a baptism in 1698. John Van Wogelum had 
a daughter Chrystyntien, baptised 22, 1707, and a daugh- 
ter Suster, baptized July 26, 1711. Ary (Adrian) and Celia 
Pryer had the following children: Jan, baptized May 21, 1716: 
Anna, baptized June 3, 1722; Andries, baptized June 27, 1725; 
Adrian, baptized July 27, 1729; and Abraham, baptized August 
8, 1731. 

There was a Douwe Van Wogelum residing on the island in 
1742. 

The next notice of any members of the famil}' are from the 
records of St. Andrew's. Abraham and Hannah Parlee were 
married November 18, 1790; Joshua and Martha Cole were mar- 
ried February 10, 1796; John and Lanah Pryor were married 
December 24, 1808. 

Wood. — This family is of English origin. The name is com- 
mon everywhere, and it is exceedingly doubtful whether the 
Woods on the island have descended from the .same original. 
Samuel B. Wood, Esq., of Garrison's, is the son of the late 
John B., who, with his brother Samuel are sons of Samuel. 
Samuel's brothers were Joseph, John, Stephen and Jesse, and 
they were the sons of John, the great-grandfather of Samuel 
B., Esq. It is impossible to trace the genealogy of any other 
branch, but we subjoin the names of such as are to be found in 
the several church records. Stephen and his wife Geertje (Ger- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 623 

trade) Winter, had twins, Stephen and Obadia, baptized De- 
cember 24, 1727. Stephen and his wife Jemima Mott had a son 
Richard, baptized June 13, 1731. 

The above are from the records of the Dutch church ; the 
following are from those of St. Andrew's church : Stephen and 
Mar}', his wife, had a daughter Mary, born September IS, 1772; 
a son Stephen, baptized June 5, 178.5. John and Margaret, his 
wife, had a son Stephen, baptized August 1, 1773, who married 
Damy Housman, February 3, 1794. (This Stephen was one of 
the live brothers mentioned above as sons of John.) Stephen 
and Alice, or Elsy, his wife, had a son John, baptized June IS. 
1783 ; he married Barbara Van Pelt, December 23, 1804, and 
another son, Abraham, born September 22, 1788. Timothy and 
Sarah Rezeau were married inJanuarj^ 1769. Isaac and Susan 
Lewis were married February 9, 1794. John and Sarah Lock- 
man were married March 23, 1794. Richard and Catharine 
Lockman were married January 7, 1795. James and Els- 
ton (Alston ?) were married June 1, 1799. Charles and Joanna 
Dongan were married December 11, 1806; she was the daughter 
of the late Walter Dongan, of the Four Corners, and the mother 
of Mr. Walter D. Wood, of Mariners' Harbor. Jesse and 
Catharine Marshal were married July 9, 1807. James, men- 
tioned above, lived at Long Neck, or Travisville, and his sons 
were : Charles, mentioned above, John, Peter and Abraham ; 
Charles was well known in his day as a local preacher in tiie 
Methodist church. John, brother of Charles, married Mary 
Jones, and was the father of James and Edward. 

Abraham C. Wood, son of Benjamin Wood, was born in 
New York city, March 1, 1819. He came to Staten Island with 
his father in the year 1821. Prom early life he was a prominent 
and useful member of the Reformed church. Port Richmond. 
He commenced his business life in the employ of the New York 
dyeing and printing establishment at West Brighton. In 1851 
he became a member of the firm of Barrett, Nephews & Co., 
Staten Island fancy dyeing establishment, the works located in 
Cherry lane. West Brighton. As secretary and treasurer he 
controlled the office in New York city. In this position he con- 
tinued during his life. He was for many years trustee of pub- 
lic school No. 2, of Castleton. He also served in other positions 
of honor on the island, among which were supervisor and mem- 
ber of the board of police. The following resolution was placed 



624 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

on file by his associates of the board of trustees of school 
No. 2: 

'' Hesolved, That this board of trustees feel called upon to 
testify its appreciation of the great loss the people of this dis- 
trict have sustained in the death of this tried and faithful 
officer, whose integrity and purity of purpose were beyond all 
question. It is with sorrow not wholly unmixed with pride 
that we remember our worthy colleague, the public spirited 
citizen, the efficient friend and laborer for public schools, the 
loving husband and parent, the conscientious Christian, and 
record for the benefit of those who come after us, that Abra- 
ham C. Wood lived a long and useful life amongst us, and laid 
down the burden of life generally esteemed as one of the most 
conscientious, worthy and public spirited citizens that ever lived 
among us." 

He died April 30, 1884, and rests in the Moravian cemetery at 
New Dorp, Staten Island, awaiting the call to a blissful imm(jr- 
tality. 

Jacob B. Wood, son of Benjamin Wood, was born in New 
York city, August 22, 1811, and came to Staten Island with his 
father in the year 1821. He was, during his life, connected in 
business with the custom house in New York city for a number 
of years as entry clerk, and afterward as head of the firm of 
Wood, Niebuhr & Co., custom house brokers, which last posi- 
tion he held until his death. He was also, as his father, con- 
nected with the Brighton Heights church. In business and in 
church relations he was always prominent. In nobility of char- 
acter and loftiness of spirit he closely resembled his father. In 
the minutest particular he was always the gentleman, and every- 
where courted for his high social qualities. He vvas a great 
lover of books and works of art. In 1851 he visited Europe. 
On his return he published a small volume entitled " Notes of 
Foreign Travel." The book reveals a lively appreciation of 
every sight he witnessed and of all the incidents that marked 
his tour. He had a mind and heart of very high order. His 
home was on Staten Island from 1821 until 1863. He served as 
supervisor a number of years, and was a marked and prominent 
man in every good work going on around him, and esteemed and 
beloved by all with whom he came in contact. He died at 
Piermont, Rockland county. New York, August 1, 1885, rest- 




'nyANSatd'U' 




HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 62;") 

ing in faith awaiting the trumpet call to a blessed immortality. 
His body lies beside his father in the Rockland cemetery. 

Abraham J. Wood.— Abraham Wood, the grandfather of 
the subject of this biography, died at Springville, Staten Island, 
September 20, 1796. To his wife Ruth were born sons, Moses 
Abraham, James C, Walter; and daughters, Nelly, married to 
David Price, and Mary, married first to Samuel Baily, and a 
second time to Isaac Sprague. James C, the third son in 
order of birth, was a native of Staten Island and by trade a 
chairmaker and mechanic, after which lie became and contin- 
ued for many years a merchant at Tottenville. He was an ex- 
emplary Christian, zealous in the cause of temperance, and an 
honored exhorter in the Methodist Episcopal church with 
which he was connected. By his first marriage to Catherine, 
daughter of Elias Price, were born Abraham J., Esther Ann, 
wife of Andrew Sprague, and Elias P. His second wife was 
Hettie, also a daughter of Elias Price, whose children were 
Catherine M., wife of Isaac Bedell, Alfred, Emily, wife of John 
T. Winant; Rachel, married to Sebastian Butler; Drusilla, wife 
of James Booth, and James. 

Abraham J., the eldest son, was born January 29, 1812, in 
Hudson county, N. J., from whence he removed when but 5 
years of age to Staten Island. Receiving but limited advant 
ages of education at Tottenville, his home, at the early age of 
16 he engaged in the oyster trade. New York afforded a ready 
market, and his regular trips were rendered more i^rofitable 
by the occasional transportation of passengers. At the age 
of 24 his attention was turned to farming and butchering for 
a limited time. His former vocation again attracted him, 
and to the present time his energies have been chiefly di- 
rected to oyster planting, with such successful results as to 
have placed him in a condition of independence. He now re- 
sides on his attractive farm at Prince's Bay. Mr. Wood, in 
1860, opened a store at Prince's Bay, of which he is still the 
owner. As a citizen he is enterprising and public spirited. As 
a business man, clear headed and thrifty, his ventures have 
usually been crowned with success. 

An early democrat, Mr. Wood on its formation found the 

principles of the republican party to harmonize with his views, 

and consequently Joined its ranks. He has been a delegate to 

state conventions, served as justice of the peace, held for six 

40 



626 HISTOKY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

terms the office of suiiervisor, and in various otlier capacities 
served his township, county and state. In all these relations 
he has won respect as a conscientious and able public officer. 
He has also been for a quarter of a century postmaster of 
Prince's Bay. Mr. Wood was, Maj^ 24, 1834, married to Cath- 
erine, daughter of James La Forge. Their children are Abra- 
ham E., Catherine E., Frances A. and James A. 

Besides the foregoing, there are several names that have at 
one time or another been prominent in the county. Some of 
these we notice in the following paragraphs : 

Arrowsmith. — Of this name there were two on the island 
during the first half of the last century — Thomas and Edmond. 
They wei-e Englishmen, and appear to have aspired to an aris- 
tocratic position in society. Their public services were chiefly 
of a military character. 

Beatty. — John, and his son Edward, who died Julj' 17, 1825, 
aged over eighty-one years. They owned the property lying 
between the Moravian church and the Patten house, and were 
prominent as friends and supporters of that church. 

BiLLOP. — The name is introduced here only to notice the fact 
that Colonel Christopher, so eminently notorious during the 
revolution, had a son, John Willett, baptized June 11, 1769, of 
whom we hear nothing more. If living at the time of the 
evacuation of the island he was a lad of fourteen or there- 
abouts, and probably accompanied his father to the British ijos- 
sessions. 

Borland. — In the latter part of the seventeenth century we 
meet the name of Lambert Borland frequently. He was a mem- 
ber of the colonial assembly in 1691, and therefore must have 
been a man of considerable importance. The name has now en- 
tirely disappeared from the island. 

Dunn. — In our local records, church or county, this name oc- 
curs only in connection with a single individual, who is desig- 
nated as John Dunn, Esq. He appears to have been a man of 
superior acquirements, and was twice elected member of assem- 
bly from the county, 1804 and 1805. He died December 21, 1826, 
aged fifty-seven years. Mrs. Abraham Housman, of Port Rich- 
mond, is his only surviving child in the county. 

GiFFORD. — This name also occurs in the records only with ref- 
erence to a single individual, as early as 1770. He was a man of 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 627 

considerable influence, and bis name is perpetuated in the public 
road called from him, Gilford's lane, near Richmond. 

Harrison.— John Talbot Harrison, M.B., was born October 

2, 1785, and died March 6, 1868. His appointment as health of- 
ticer of the port introduced him to the island, where he subse- 
quently took up his residence. He was a member of assembly 
for the county in 1830 and 1831, presidential elector in 1840, and 
member of the state constitutional convention in 1845. He was 
highly respected as a man and as a physician. He was the father 
of H. R. Harrison, M.D., Port Richmond. 

Le Count, or Le Conte, John.— Was a man of great influence 
in the county early in the last century; he was a member of the 
colonial assembly in 1726, and again in 1756; he was also county 
judge from 1739 to 1756. 

Marlet. — There were two brothers of this name, Paul and 
Abraham, residing in the county, between 1680 and 1700 ; they 
possessed considerable property, but the name has become ex- 
tinct. They both appear to have been highly respected in their 
day and generation. 

MiCHEAU. — During the last half of the last century, and the 
beginning of the present, there were several families of this 
name in the county, some of whom were men exceedingly 
popular. The first of the name, Paul, was sheriff in 1736, and 
member of the colonial assembly from 1748 to 1751 ; his son 
Paul, however, appears to have been a great favorite with the 
people of the county ; he was chosen to the provincial congress 
in 1775-6 ; county clerk for twenty years from 1761 ; county 
judge for eleven years from 1786, and state senator from 1789 to 
1792. His son, Paul J., was member of assembly 1798-9, 1802- 

3, and Benjamin, county treasurer in 1787. There was never a 
more jiopular or influential family in the county, but they have 
all disappeared. They were residents of Westfield. 

Besides the above, there were individuals and families who 
once exerted a powerful influence in the county, who have 
now totally disappeared ; among them are the names of Berge, 
Adriance, Stoothoff, Veghte, Vanderbeck, Staats, Yeltman, 
Clendening, Garrabrantz, Hoogland, Ralph, Jenners, Van 
Wagenan, Slecht, Carenton, Spier, Hafte, Swaim, Neflus, 
Ryke, Schouten, Gray, Zutpheu, Rykman, Van Engelen, 
Metzelaer, Van Tuyl, Pryor, Jurks, De Grammeaux, Vander- 
hoven, Richaud, Wimmer, Gaspers, Packer, Van Dyck, Sim- 



628 HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

senbach, Brebant Bosler, Tillburgh, Van Brakel De Camp, 
Carhart, Corbitt, Tillou, and others. 

EMINENT MEN AND WOMEN OF STATEN ISLAND. 
By Hamilton Willcox. 

Forgotten corner of the world though most strangers deem 
Staten Island, it has been the home of as many famous persons 
as most places of renown. Since, yes, before, the time when 
Governor Dongan built his residence on the shore of Kill Van 
Kull, overlooking the scene where white men began the long 
record of outrage and murder on the occupants of the land, 
and built his shooting lodge on the west slope of the hills, 
that just above Castleton Corners look toward the Orange 
mountains, Staten Island has been the abode of numerous men 
and women whose memories are historic. 

Lest partiality should seem to be shown, the writer has been 
unwilling to trust to his own knowledge or recollections. No- 
tice of the preparation of this chapter has been furnished to the 
journals of Richmond county, with a I'equest for memoranda 
regarding those who could properly be deemed distinguished. 
If any who should be included here are left out, it will be be- 
cause the needful information has not been supplied. Our 
space will mainly be devoted to those who are no longer living, 
or now dwell elsewhere. 

Above all the ligures of its past, towers that of Daniel D. 
Tompkins, whose great mansion yet stands on a hill overlook- 
ing the first village incorporated in the county, and named for 
him. Assemblyman, judge of the supreme court, representa- 
tive in congress, governor of New York state ten years, includ. 
ing the trying time of the war with Great Britain, and by his 
courage and patriotism, when his state was invaded on the St. 
Lawrence river and Lake Ontario, and his own home was in 
peril from British ships, distinguished as "New York's war 
governor ;" as governor, obtaining the passage of the noble law 
which abolished slavery and secured freedom to ten thousand 
human beings and to their posterity forever ; also as governor, 
approving the various acts whereby the legislature removed the 
burden of disfranchisement from several classes of people ; 
leaving the governor's chair to become vice-president of the 
United States, in an administration which had the glory to 
allay partisan strife, and receiving an almost unanimous re- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 629 

election ; during tliis second term as vice-president almost 
elected governor agiiin ; presiding over the convention which 
revised the state constitution, and serving as vice-president al- 
most to the day of his death ; few American statesmen have 
had so brilliant and honorable a career. One of the great forts, 
which at the Narrows guard New York on the Staten Island 
shore, fitly bears his name, and is his lasting monument. 

The spirit of the elder Tompkins was transmitted to his son, 
the courtly, scholarly, brave, genial and eloquent Minthoi-ne 
Tompkins, who resigned his seat in the state senate in 1840, 
sacrificed a career which lay before him probably as brilliant as 
his father's, rather than withhold his hostility to slavery in 
other regions, and espoused the cause of liberty when it was 
political ruin to befriend the slave. In a state where his father 
was so long governor he had the nerve to accept a nomination 
for that ofBce as the candidate of the free soil party (with John 
P. Hale for president and George W. Julian for vice-president), 
when his supporters could give him but 19,000 votes. To his 
generous sympathy hundreds of poor families on the island owe 
their houses, for he it was who broke up the great estate his 
father left into small lots, sold these lots to poor families, and 
allowed them to pay him as they could — five or ten dollars at a 
time. The people of the county remembered this, and on two 
occasions, when he headed the county ticket of his party, which 
was in a hoj^eless minority, he was honored by a vote much 
beyond the strength of that organization. In 1855, when his 
party (republican) was beaten nearly three to one, Minthorne 
Tomi)kins failed of election to the assembly by only seventy- 
five votes. During the war of the rebellion he spent much time 
and pains in raising the " Staten Island Regiment," of which he 
was made colonel, though of an age that well exempted him 
from military service; and when the exigencies of war obliged 
the government to consolidate the regiment with others before 
he could complete its numbers, and to hurry to the front the 
men he had recruited, he gave up his command without a mur- 
mur. For many years he served, in the latter part of his life, 
as a member and president of the board of port wardens. He 
died, not long since, beloved and regretted by friends all over 
the state and country. 

Another vice-president, a predecessor of Vice-President 
Tompkins, and a man of a very different career, ended his days 



630 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 



at Port Richmond. Soldier of the revolvition, leader of the bar, 
attorney-general, senator of the United States, inventor of the 
methods of American politics, manager of the tremendous 
struggle of 1800 which placed Jefferson and the party of the 
people in power by carrying New York city, hence the state, 
and so turning the scale; while vice-president engineering the 



Hi 




ST. JAMES HOTEL, PORT RICHMOND.— HOUSE WHERE AABON BUKR DIED. 

act of 1801, by which the legislature relieved tens of thousands 
from disfranchisement, and presiding over the first convention 
which revised the state constitution; missing the presidency 
only by want of generous and hearty loyalty to Jefferson; can- 
didate for governor, driven from the state by a combination of 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 63] 

politicians who used the death of Alexander Hamilton to crush 
him, would-be emperor of Mexico — when Aaron Burr came to 
the end of his eventful life, it was on Staten Island, where he 
had passed much time at intervals, that he died. 

Jacob Dolsen Cox, one of the most honored of living Ameri- 
cans, who has filled the posts of major-general of volunteers 
in the civil war, governor of Ohio, secretary of the interior in 
General Grant's first cabinet, representative in congress, presi- 
dent of the Toledo, Wabash & Western railroad; dean of Cin- 
cinati law school, and almost senator in place of John Sherman, 
was in his youth a clerk in the Wall street office of Anthony 
Lane, and was a resident of Port Richmond, as was also his 
brother, Charles F. Cox, secretary of the Canada Southern 
railroad. 

Some of the leading names of the world in science belong to 
Staten Island. Dr. John William Draper, one of the most ma- 
jestic minds the world has known, whose researches revolu- 
tionized many departments of knowledge; who gave to man- 
kind the art of i^hotography; who during half a century's 
laborious investigation freely gave the public, without seeking 
patent or other monopoly, the fruits of his toil and study; who 
set forth, in books of wide circulation, facts commonly deemed 
dry with language that fascinated the reader; who handled the 
history of Europe with skill that from an adverse critic (the 
Westminster "^eo/eio") extorted the confession that "what 
Buckle attempted for England, Draper has done for Europe;" 
who for more than forty years daily instructed large classes in 
chemistry, physiology, botany, geology and kindred sciences; 
who helped to found the New York University Medical College, 
and as its secretary and president built it up to a great institu- 
tion. Doctor Draper, while making the discoveries and writing 
the works which first gave him European as well as American 
celebrity, lived in a modest house on Cherry lane, not far from 
the Hatfield farm. His sons. Dr. John C. Draper, successor to 
his father's university chairs, in that father's lifetime professor 
of chemistry and mineralogy in the New York City College, and 
of analytical and practical chemistry in the university, author 
of several scientific works; and Dr. Henry Draper, also author 
of a number of scientific works, builder of a silvered glass re- 
flectory telescope which eclipsed that of Lord Rosse; first pho- 
tographer of the moon, ])hotograplier of the sun through the 



632 HISTORY OF Richmond county. 

telescope, surgeon and captain in the war of the rebellion, 
author of numerous i^apers, articles and books on scientific sub- 
jects, resided in boyhood in the Cherry lane house with their 
father. 

Alexander Del Mar, author of "A History of the Precious 
Metals," a " History of Money in Ancient Times," " The Science 
of Money," and other works, probably the greatest ever written 
on political economy, and certainly the ablest and most labor- 
ious ever written by an American, lived both at New Brighton 
and Stapleton. -At one time he was financial editor of eight 
different journals, and founded also the flourishing " Commer- 
cial and Financial Chronicle and Neio York Daily Bulletin.'' 
As director of the bureau of statistics he reorganized the United 
States commerce and navigation returns so as to make them re- 
liable, which was a herculean task; and by one sharp exposure 
he prevented, in 1868-9, the plunder of the United States treas- 
ury to the extent of one hundred millions of dollars. As orig- 
inator and officer of the United States monetary commission of 
1876, he brought the country back to the use of both silver and 
gold as currency, and thus greatly aided to prevent the threat- 
ened disaster of a vast paper inflation. 

Dr. Samuel Mackenzie Elliott, whose discoveries in occulism 
largely advanced that art and brought him an income of 
$30,000 a year, also founded the settlement along Bard avenue 
which still bears his name; built, and for years maintained, an 
astronomical observatory, whose dome may still be seen on the 
roof of his former residence, on the hill above Stapleton. Under 
his care at Elliottville, among many remarkable cures, sight 
was restored to Professor Edward L. Youmans, whose enthusi- 
astic lectures and writings on chemistry and kindred branches, 
delivered to audiences all through the counti-y, widely spread 
the knowledge and interest on these subjects which are now 
common. He founded the " Fopular Science Montliln,'' made 
that great thinker, Herbert Spencer, known to Americans, and 
saved his wondrous system of philosophy from suppression. 

Dr. John Swinburne, too, whose discoveries in the art of 
healing broken bones and dislocated joints, and whose success- 
ful application of those discoveries to thousands of sufferers in 
civil life, in the war of the rebellion, and in the siege of Paris 
(1870), earned for him unnumbered blessings and amazed the 
skilled surgeons of France; who as health officer saved New 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 633 

York from a plague, and who was elected mayor and congress- 
man in Albany by large majorities in a community strongly op- 
posed to him politically, was long a resident of Tompkinsville. 

Dr. Carl C. Schmidt, publisher of the " Leipsic Medical An- 
nual," and other valuable publications, a scholar and physician 
of unusual attainments and singular dignity and beauty of 
person, driven from Germany in the revolution of 1848, settled 
at Willow Brook in Northtield, and there ended his days. 

I)r. Frederick Hollick, whose books and lectures on physi- 
ology did much a generation since to spread knowledge of that 
science in America, has long been a resident of the island, as 
has Dr. A. L. Carroll, formerly editor of the " Medical 
Gazette,'" translator and author of several scientific works, 
and secretary of the state board of health. 

Prof. N. L. Britton of Columbia College, a nativ.e of West- 
field, though still a young man, has made a name among scien- 
tists by several works on topics in natural history. 

Sir Edward Cunard, American manager of the singularlj^ 
careful and successful ocean steamship line which bears 
his name, long lived on the hill overlooking the Narrows, where 
he could see from his window every vessel of his line come in 
sight of New York and disappear thence. 

William H. Aspinwall, long a leader in developing trade with 
California, and for whom the city of Aspinwall in Panama is 
named, was long a dweller at New Dorp. 

M. B. Brady, the famous photographer, long dispensed a 
generous hospitality to distinguished guests from many climes, 
at a residence on Grymes hill. 

Daniel B. Allen and Samuel Barton, agents of Commodore 
Vanderbilt's steamship lines; Jeremiah Simonson, a prominent 
shipbuilder; Bernhard Westermann, the leading German book- 
seller of America, have also been residents of Staten Island. 

George Cabot Ward, American agent of the famous banking 
house of Baring Brothers & Co., dwelt on Bard avenue, as did 
Robert B. Minturn the younger, of the widely known house of 
Grinnell, Minturn & Co., and president of the American Free 
Trade League. 

At Clifton lived John A. Appleton, of the immense publish- 
ing house of D. Appleton & Co., and Nathaniel Marsh, presi- 
dent of the Erie railroad ; at New Brighton— Daniel L. Apple- 
ton, of the celebrated Waltham " American Watch Company,'' 



634 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

and at different times president of the Mercantile Library and 
of the New England Society ; at West Brighton — Hiram H. 
Lamfort, president of the ubiquitous Continental Fire Insur- 
ance Company ; on Grymes hill — George Law, who succeeded 
Cornelius Vanderbiltas the leading steamboat owner of the har- 
bor, and after Law's death John J. Cisco, the banker, for years 
United States assistant treasurer ; Hugh J. Jewett, president of 
the Erie Railroad ; Roderick W. Cameron, of the Australian 
steamship line ; Erastus Wiman, head of the original mei'can- 
tile agency, which reaches all over the country, and promoter 
of other business enterjirises ; William T. Garner, head of the 
great Cohoes Mills, and commodore of the New York Yacht 
Club. The list of Staten Islanders who have been commercially 
distinguished is far too long for insertion here. 

Gen. Antonio Lopez Santa Anna, styled the ablest of Mexican 
generals, and the wiliest of Mexican iioliticians, repeatedly 
president and dictator of Me.xico, and as often expelled from 
that country, during his last exile lived for a considerable time 
at West Brighton, on the Manor road, just north of Cherry 
lane. 

Gen. Richard Delafield, of the United States army, was long 
stationed at Fort Tompkins, and as colonel of engineers had 
charge of the construction of Fort Wadsworth. Gen. Joseph 
G. Totten, chief engineer of the army, is said to have been a 
resident of Tottenville. 

To the navy Staten Island has contributed: Alban C. Stimers, 
chief engineer, who took personal charge of the engines of the 
"Monitor," in her fight with the " Merrimac ;" Commodore 
Stephen Decatur, the younger, who, struck with blindness 
through the terrible blunder of a physician at the outset of a 
fine career, resided long at EUiottville, in the vain hope that 
Doctor Elliott's skill might succeed in undoing the injury; and 
Commodore A. Colden Rhind, whose daring exploits in the cap- 
ture of New Orleans, and the ascent of the Mississippi by Far- 
ragut and Porter, made him renowned. Commodore .Tames Mc- 
intosh was also long a resident of Clifton. William W. Win- 
throp, judge advocate, general of the army, was for some time 
a resident of West Brighton. 

To the revolutionary volunteers Northfield contributed Capt. 
Joseph Mersereau ; to the tory forces Westfield furnished Col- 
onel Billop. It also contributed to the side of liberty the de- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 6^5 

voted patriot, Mrs. Disosway, of Tottenville, who refused to 
urge her brother to cease his attacks on the British, though 
promised the release of her husband from captivity if she 
would do so. 

To the war of 1812 Richmond county, so far as known, did 
not supply many prominent actors; but Capt. Benjamin Wood, 
who raised and largely equipped a company for the defense of 
New York, becoming captain in the Twenty-seventh regiment, 
United States infantry, as such boarded, in 1815, the British 
frigate (at Sandy Hook, where he was stationed) that brought 
the news of peace, being the first American to receive this glad 
news ; who mounted and fired the first gun placed on Fort La- 
fayette at the Narrows ; was twenty years (1821-41) revenue 
boarding officer at the quarantine station, a resident of Tomp- 
kinsville, and a leader in county affairs. 

To the volunteer service in the rebellion the island contrib- 
uted, besides those heretofore named: Robert Gould Shaw, of 
Bard avenue, colonel of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts colored 
regiment, who fell, with scores of his command, at the storming 
of Fort Wagner, and whose remains lie with those of the dusky 
comrades whom he led, his generous parents deeming that com- 
panionship their fittest sepulture ; and Major Theodore Win- 
throp, the explorer, novelist and orator, whose country saw him 
last by the flashes of musketry against the black night of a 
Virginian forest, standing on a gun, striving to rally the Union 
troops whom surprise had confused and disordered, and who, 
while going to his death, wrote to a companion of his country 
walks, "Ah, me ! in these sweet, balmy May days I miss my 
Staten Island." 

When the Union army set out to reach Richmond. Va., by 
way of the James river, Mariners' Harbor furnished a hundred 
skilled pilots, who knew every foot of the way, selected from 
its oyster fleet by Capt. John J. Housman. Before the war Gen. 
Francis C. Barlow, said to be the bravest man in the Army of 
the Potomac, afterward attorney general, secretary of state and 
United States mar.shal, was a tutor in a private family of Staten 
Island. 

In literature, besides those heretofore mentioned, there are 
many, too many to specify all; but above all stands George Wil- 
liam Curtis, author of the "Nile Notes," which soon after its 
publication became a text book in Oxford for students of a pure 



636 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

English style, and whom Charles Dickens declared to be mnch 
the finest speaker he had ever heard ; author of other notable 
books, such as "Prue and I," and "Trum^js." As orator, 
journalist and statesman, ever unselfishly striving to lead pub- 
lic sentiment toward justice and purity, no man since the days 
of Governor Tompkins has so won the hearts or aroused the 
pride of his fellow islanders. In this connection, too, must be 
remembered the scholarly, eloquent and kindly Erastus Brooks, 
forty years editor of the " iV^ew York Express,'" and longer 
than any other man the representative of Richmond county in 
the state legislature. 

Richard Adams Locke, author of the famous "Moon Hoax'' 
in the ^' New York Herald,'' which, before the days of transat- 
lantic steamers and cables, led Americans to believe that Sir 
John Herschel, peering with his great telescope through the 
clear air of South Africa, had discovered men and women in the 
moon, lived long at Tompkinsville. Mrs. Laura Winthrop John- 
son, the poet-sister of Theodore and William Winthrop; Chris- 
topher Pearse Clanch, one of the most exquisite of American 
poets and artists; Gabriel P. Disosway. author (in the columns 
of the '■' Staten Island Union'') of the first history of the 
island, and of other historical works; his daughter. Miss Ella 
Taylor Disosway, the novelist; and many others mentioned in 
other connections, form an army of literarj^ workers of which 
Richmond county may well be proud. 

Charles Mackaye, the well-known English poet, was for some 
years a resident of Clifton, and of Dr. Elliott's observatory cot- 
tage on Grymes hill. Mrs. Catherine N. Sinclair, long a prom- 
inent actress under the name of Mrs. Forrest, lived a long time 
in the opposite cottage with her brother-in-law, Mr. Henry 
Sedley, of the New York " Times." Henry D. Thoreau, author 
of " Walden," etc., an uncommonly able writer and thinker, 
who was for some time tutor in the family of Judge William 
Emerson, brother of Ralph Waldo Emerson; Clarence Cook, 
the author, journalist and critic; Maria J. Mcintosh, the novel- 
ist; Rev. John F. Hurst, since president of Drew Theological 
seminary and now bishop of Iowa, who published his " History 
of Rationalism" while pastor of Trinity Methodist church, 
West Brighton; Richard L. Dugdale, author of the famous 
work on crime and pauperism called " The Jukes," for a long 
time assistant secretary of the Prison Association, also secre- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 637 

tary of the Society for Political Education, the Civil Service 
Reform Association and the Sociologic Section of the New York 
Association for Advancement of Science, and treasurer of the 
New York Liberal Club, much of whose closing years were 
passed on Bard avenue; may be added to the list. 

Among painters may be mentioned William Page, delineator 
of "Venus" and many other skillful pictures; and among 
musical men. Max Maretzek, the effective manager, resided 
here. Among inventors should be mentioned William F. Cas- 
ton, deviser of the "Night Signals" system used by the gov- 
ernment ; Prof. John M. Hawkins, contriver of vivid and 
startling optical effects of the "Thaumascope"; Horace Board- 
man, inventor of the Boardman boiler; and Antonio Meucci, 
one of the early contrivers of the telephone and the host of 
Garibaldi in that hero's exile. 

When the New York draft rioters of 1863 came to be tried, 
the foreman of the Jury which convicted them, Hugh Auchin- 
closs, was a former Staten Islander. 

Caleb Lyon, at one time representative in congress and after- 
ward governor of Montana, was for a time resident of Rossville. 
Judge George C. Barrett, just unanimously re-elected to the bench 
of the supi'eme court for another term of fourteen years, was 
for a time a resident of West Brighton. Frederick Law Olm- 
sted, whose architectural and landscape engineering skill trans- 
formed a mass of shanties, pigsties and rocks into the resplen- 
dent beauty of the Central park, and also turned the capitol 
grounds at Washington into charming surroundings instead of 
the eyesore and public disgrace they had been, author of "A 
Journey Through the Seaboard Slave States," and other able 
works, was long a resident of the south shore. Dr. Bedell, 
Episcopal bishop of New Jersey, was a native of Staten Island. 

Besides all these, there is a class of Staten Islanders whom 
we should hold especially dear, because their efforts were sig- 
nally directed to abolishing oppression and wrong, and to pro- 
moting virtue and freedom. The Latourettes, Dupuys, Freneaus 
and other Huguenots and Waldenses, who bore imprison- 
ment for conscience's sake, took part in the heroic defense of 
Rochelle and other points in France, more than two centuries 
ago, and afterward left their homes forever, rather than lose 
their liberty, should always have a place in our hearts. 

As the writer once stood on the walls of the ancient strong- 



638 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 

hold Perpigman, with the Pyrenees towering behind and on 
either hand, while before stretched away the sunny plains of 
France, it seemed for a moment the world had rolled back two 
centuries, and from those plains rose the sad sound of the 
lament of many exiles who afterward became Staten Island's 
colonists : — 

" Alas ! we must leave thee, 

Dear, desolate home. 
To the sijearmen of Uri, 

The slavelings of Rome ; 
To the serpent of Florence, 

The vulture of Spain, 
To the pride of Anjou, 

And the guile of Lorraine. 

" One look, one last look, 

To the sti'eams and the bowers, 
To the fields and the trees, 

To the cots and the towers ; 
To the church where the bones 

Of our fathers decayed, 
Where we_fondly had hoped 

That our own should be laid. 

"Farewell to thy fountains, 

Farewell to thy shades, 
To the song of thy youths. 

And the dance of thy maids; 
To the cool of thy garden. 

The bum of thy bees, 
And the long, waving line 

Of the blue Pyrenees. 

" Farewell, and forever. 

The priest and the slave 
May rule in the halls 

Of the free and the brave; 
Our hearths we abandon; 

Our lands we resign; 
But, Father, we kneel 

To no altar but thine." 

General John C. Fremont, who saved California from the 
curse of slavery, was one of its first senators, and in 1856 bore 
the banner of free soil as candidate for president, was at the 
latter time, as he has repeatedly since been, a resident of 
Staten Island. 

Joseph Karge, a Polish nobleman, for seeking the liberty of 
his country, was condemned by the Russian government to 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 639 

death. EscaiMng to America, be found a home at Elliottvllle; 
in the war became a general of cavalry, and later a member of 
the faculty of Princeton College. 

When Louis Kossuth, driven from Hungary for defending 
his country's liberty, found a refuge in America, Staten Island 
was the first American soil he trod, and a Staten Island regi- 
ment gave him his first welcome. Gustav Struve, the colleague 
of Frederick Hecker in establishing a republic in Baden in 
1848, driven from Germany, and afterward from Switzerland, 
found a home, and opportunity to write his " History of the 
World," on the Northfield plankroad near Graniteville. Many 
yet living recall his venerable and dignified form, and the 
electric eloquence and wonderful master.y of English where- 
with he advocated the election of Lincoln. Delia Tudor Stewart 
Parnell, daughter of Admiral Charles Stewart (commander of 
the famous frigate "Constitution," who bore the name of " the 
bravest man in the American navy"), wife of an Irish country 
gentleman, seeing the misery of the people of her adojited 
country, trained her son Charles Stewart Parnell to become the 
leader of his countrymen in peaceful, legal and resistless move- 
ment toward self government; and when his great work in the 
house of commons began, she, with her daughters, whom she 
had reared in the same noble spirit, traveled, spoke and per- 
formed enormous labor in organizing and teaching the great 
Irish population of America to co-operate with the great work 
which her son was guiding. In the thick of this work, mother 
and daughters resided for some time at New Bi'ighton. 

But of all the lofty and heroic souls who have hallowed our 
island's soil, who will deny the first place to him who for liis 
country's weal refused a crown, and gave away a realm, and 
whose life and sword were ever at the call of freedom, in his 
own or other lands? Forced to leave his native soil by the 
pressure of organized numbers wielded by despotic hands; in 
exile and povertj', the house of a compatriot at Clifton afforded 
a refuge and home to Joseph Garibaldi. In the dwelling of 
that friend, the faithful Antonio Meucci, hangs still a portrait 
painted then; and the worn, weary face, the sunken, melan- 
choly eyes and the well nigh despairing expression, tell a 
touching tale of the sufferings the hero had borne, and of his 
feelings in that terrible hour, when throughout the European 
continent liberty was crushed by armed hosts; while the look of 



C40 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

fearless and immovable resolve bespeaks the leader who within 
ten years returned at the head of conquering armies, drove out 
tyrants, and made Italy united and free. When Garibaldi died, 
how new the world must have seemed to him, with justice and 
self-government everywhere growing up, compared to what it 
was when he wandered through Clifton's groves beneath our 
summer skies. 

Truly, "Freedom's battle, once begun, tliongh baffled oft, is 
ever won." America may be proud to have given Garibaldi an 
asylum, and for ages to come Italia' s sons and daughters shall 
revere his name as that of one of the noblest in her long line of 
heroes. 

The truth is that Staten Island's soil has been trodden by 
numbers of men and women whose lives and deeds have done 
them honor, and made this ground historic. Our air is full of 
memories of worthy souls and acts; and these memories should 
nerve us all to equal and outdo the characters and achievements 
that make these men and women remembered and admired. 




o 

H 
H 
UJ 

o 

J 



CHAPTER XIII. 



CHARITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS. 



The S. R. Smith Infirmary.— The Seamen's Fund and Retreat.— Home for Desti- 
tute Children of Seamen.— County Poor House.— Staten Island Diet Kitchen. 
—Cemeteries.— Staten Island Water Supply Company.— The Crystal Water 
Works.— The Sailors' Snug Harbor.— The Police and Fire Department. 



BENEVOLENT movements of all kinds have ever found 
hearty supporters on Staten Island. Whether in time of 
peace to provide succor for the unfortunate or distressed, or in 
time of war to provide for the destitute, and supply the lan- 
guishing with what comforts human aid can provide, the people 
of the island have proved themselves ready to sympathize with 
their suffering fellows, and to take a hand in whatever benevo- 
lent work may from time to time present itself for their atten- 
tion. 

In this connection we are prompted to speak of an item which 
appears in a number of an old paper, printed in 1828. From 
that we learn that the ladies of Tompkinsville met at the school 
house on Monday, March 5, 1828, " to purchase and make up 
clothing for the suffering Greeks," and a few weeks later the 
" New York Greek Committee" acknowledged the receijit of 
one hundred and seventy three garments from the inhabitants 
of Tompkinsville. But it is more particularly of the home 
charities that we wish to sjDeak in this chapter. Some of 
the most prominent institutions of this kind we shall notice. 

The S. R. Smith Infirmary grew out of a need that ajjpeared 
at the outbreak of the late war, in a then prospective increase 
of the call for means and facilities for the care of the sick poor, 
and for the reception of casualties, which it was anticipated 
would follow the departure of so many heads of dependent 
families to the defense of the country. 

The suggestion came from the Richmond County Medical So- 
ciety in April, 1861. This society had maintained a dispensary 

41 



642 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

for the relief of ont-door poor, but were convinced tliat the 
charity should be placed on a broader basis in order to meet 
the increasing demands upon it. They accordingly placed be- 
fore the public the proposition to establish an iniirmary for the 
reception of the indigent sick, to be called the Samuel R. Smith 
Infirmary, making the name an appropriate tribute to the mem- 
ory of a well known and highly esteemed citizen and distin- 
guished physician, whose reputation for activity in the line of 
benevolence which the proposed institution should follow, sug- 
gested his name for this honor. The constitution provided that 
the payment of $5 should make any one a member, and $25 a 
life member. The affairs of the infirmary should be managed 
by seven trustees, four of whom should be members of the 
medical society, who should be elected at the annual meetings 
of the members. The attendance at the infirmary was to be 
under the charge of the medical society. 

An organization was more perfectly effected at a meeting 
called for ihe purpose, at the Lyceum, on the 2Sth of April, 
1864, when the following directors were elected: Messrs. Shaw, 
Marsh and Despard, and Doctors Anderson, Lea, Moffatt and 
Eadie. The commissioners of quarantine granted the use of 
two of the hospitals on the late quarantine grounds to the in- 
firmary until such time as the grounds should be sold. 

The infirmary was formally opened in this building on Mon- 
day afternoon, June 20, 1864. Mr. William Shaw presided, 
and prayer and addresses were made. Since then the institu- 
tion has gone steadily forward with its work of benevolence, 
bringing comfort to many a desponding and weary heart. The 
following trustees were elected at the annual meeting, June 11, 
1885 : Livingston Satterlee, Erastus Wiman, C. C. Norvell, 
George William Curtis. L. H. Meyer, E. C. Delevan, G. S. Sco- 
field, Sr., Aquilla Rich, S. M. Davis, De Witt C. Stafford, E. C. 
Bridgman and T. M. Rianhard. 

An organization known as the "Ladies' Auxiliary of the S. 
R. Smith Infirmary" was effected November 20, 1863, and did 
noble work during the time of the war in supplementing and 
assisting the work of the infirmary. A constitution was 
adopted, and under it the following were the first officers 
elected : Mrs. H. R. Ball, president; Mrs. Rev. T. Skinner, vice- 
president; Mrs. S. B. Whitlock, secretary; and Miss C. Ehn- 
niger, treasurer. It was a part of the plan that auxiliary soci- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 643 

eties, us branches of this, should be organized in every congre- 
gation on the island. Meetings were held monthly and a lively 
interest was awakened in the society's work. 

The ninth monthly meeting was held in the building, June 7, 
1864, being the first meeting held there. The building was then 
being fitted up for their benevolent work. Subscriptions to de- 
fray the current expenses of the society then amounted to a 
little more than nine hundred dollars per annum, and the com- 
mencement was made in the full belief that the one thousand 
two hundred dollars per annum, which had been thought neces- 
sary to maintain the work designed, would soon be registered 
on the treasurer's book. Beds, bedding and articles of furni- 
ture had been purchased, and a committee was then appointed 
to supervise the domestic economy of the institution and visit 
it as frequently as convenience would permit or expediency 
dictate. 

A system was established years ago by which all foreign sail- 
ors entering the port of New York j)aid a certain fee for each 
voyage. The accumulation of these fees became a fund in the 
state treasury known as the " Seamen's Retreat and Hospital 
Fund," the object of which was to care for and maintain such 
seamen when they were sick. For this purpose this " Retreat " 
was established. A large sum was afterward diverted from this 
fund to other chai'itable uses, amounting to three hundred and 
forty thousand dollars. Subsequently financial embarrassments 
came uijon the retreat, and to recover from them it became 
necessary to place mortgages upon the property, which mort- 
gages amounted to fifty-five thousand dollars. The state after- 
ward liquidated those mortgages, and in 1879 made a further 
restoration for what had really been a misappropriation of 
funds, by appropriating fifteen thousand dollars to the retreat. 
In 1881 ihe institution asked for sixteen thousand dollars more 
of its money, in reply to which the state gave eight thousand, 
and appointed the governor and comptroller a commission to 
investigate the matter and report what was best to be done with 
the institution. 

On the 22d of April, 1831, the legislature of the state of New 
York enacted a law which directs tliat the moneys levied and col- 
lected by law upon masters, mates, mariners and seamen arriv- 
ing at the port of New York, be paid to the trustees of the 
" Seamen's Fund and Retreat," in^the city of New York. These 



644 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

trustees were to consist of the mayor, collector of customs, 
president of the Seamen's Savings Bank, president of the 
Marine Society, the health officer of the city of New York, 
together with five shipmasters of the city of New York, to be 
chosen annually. The second section of the act directs that 
convenient and suitable buildings be erected in either New York, 
Kings or Richmond counties. This act received various modi- 
fications subsequently, and was the authority for establishing 
the present " Seamen's Fund and Retreat." 

A tract of forty acres was purchased of Cornelius Corsen the 
same year for $10,000. This was located on the east side of 
Staten Island, fronting on New York bay. In addition to the 
buildings upon the land when it was purchased, others were 
immediately erected, and the institution was opened on the 
first day of October, 1831, when thirty-four patients were re- 
ceived from the marine hospital at the quarantine. The report 
for that month states that seventy- three patients had been re- 
ceived and thirty-two discharged. 

Dr. Peter S. Townsend was the first resident physician. 
Rev. John E. Miller, of the Reformed Dutch church at Tomp- 
kinsville, was the first chaplain, which office he retained until 
his death in 1847. Captain James Morgan was appointed 
superintendent in July, 1832, but in October following Captain 
Henry Russell was appointed at a salary of $1,000 with house 
and subsistence. 

By an act passed in 1847 the trustees of the Seamen's Retreat 
were directed to provide for the support of destitute, sick or 
infirm mothers, widows, wives, sisters and daughters of seamen, 
and the sum of $10,000 was applied to the erection of suitable 
buildings. An association of ladies, styled "The Mariners' 
Family Industrial Society," was incorporated May 9, 1849, hav- 
ing for its object the relief of the destitute families of seamen. 
The building was completed in December, 1853, opened in May, 
1855, and dedicated June 9th of the same year. 

The retreat is, in many respects, unlike any other hospital in 
the world. It is a retreat indeed. The sailor who has been 
from one United States hospital to another, and spent in each 
the allotted period of four months, at the end of which he must 
seek for quarters elsewhere, finds a home here where, if dis- 
eased beyond the reach of medical or surgical art to restore 
him, he is provided for for the remainder of his days. If worn 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 645 

out in the bard service of the sea, hopelessly cripjiled or super- 
annuated, he is transferred, if entitled, and he desires it, to the 
Sailor's Snug Harbor, or sent, at the expense of the board of 
trustees, to his home and friends, however distant. 

The cemetery of the retreat is located upon a knoll at the 
wrestern end of the grounds, overlooking the bay and city of 
New York. Here poor Jack finds a quiet resting place by the 
side of his comrades, when his life of hardship, privations and 
peril is ended. 

The "Home for Destitute Children of Seamen" was estab- 
lished in 1846 by a society of ladies who took a small house at 
Port Richmond, for the purpose of rescuing from misery a few 
children whose fathers had gone to sea and whose mothers 
could not support them. It was decided that Staten Island 
afforded the best location on account of its healthfulness as 
well as from the standpoint of economy, and also for its vicinity 
to New York, where many of the managers resided. 

When, with the growth of the family to be cared for, the 
house became too small, another was taken at Stapleton, where 
the children were domiciled until 1852, when they were re- 
moved to the new building which had been erected. 

Ground for the site of this building was leased of the trustees 
of the Sailoi's' Snug Harbor, and a building was erected speci- 
ally for the purpose. This building was partly paid for by the 
donations of the managers at the time, and the balance, advanced 
by the Snug Harbor trustees, was secured to them by a mort- 
gage on the premises. In 1857 the "Home" was so much in 
debt, that it was thought best to sell the house to the mort- 
gagee, so as to get rid of the mortgage. In the following year 
such a sale was effected, and the building passed into the pos- 
session of the Sailors' Snug Harbor, the privilege being re- 
served to the "Home," however, of occupying it, rent free, 
for a term of fourteen years. 

The parents or guardians of the children received here are 
expected to pay fifty cents per week for each child, for which 
food, clothing, education, and in case of sickness, medical care, 
are furnished. Children placed here are surrendered to the 
managers at least for one year, none are received under two 
or over ten years of age, and if they remain here until 
they have attained a proper age, they are either returned to their 
parents, or provided with respectable places. 



646 HISTORY OF Richmond countt. 

The institution was incorporated in 1851. An annual pay- 
ment of two dollars constitutes a member, and a single pay- 
ment of twenty-five dollars makes one a life member. This is 
chiefly supported by ladies, and the yearly expenditure is about 
$7,000. The inmates usually have numbered about one hun- 
dred. 

Prior to the establishment of a county poor-house, the desti- 
tute poor were provided for by being boarded in private fam- 
ilies, and sometimes under circumstances such as now would 
not be tolerated, as when children were paid for taking care of 
their helpless parents, of which there were several instances. 

On the second day of May, 1803, Joseph Barton, Sr., car- 
penter, and Mary, his wife, sold to the supervisors, justices, 
and overseers of the poor of the county, for the sum of $262.50, 
two acres of land, on the road leading from Richmond to New 
Dorp, on which was a small fi-ame house, containing two or 
three rooms. This property was purchased for the purpose of 
a county poor-house, though it was not able to accommodate 
one-fourth of the poor of the count}', who appear to have been 
more numerous in proportion to the population than they are 
at present; the remainder were disposed of as before stated. The 
public charity continued to be disjiensed in this manner for 
more than a quarter of a century after the purchase. 

In January, 1829, the supervisors called a public meeting of 
the taxpayers of the county, to devise some cheaper method of 
supporting the poor, "as the taxes were becoming burden- 
some." Whatever methods may have been proposed at that 
meeting, the proposition to purchase a farm large enough to 
enable the poor to earn their own subsistence by their own labor 
was adopted, and John Guyon and Richard D. Littell were ap- 
pointed to ascertain what farms could be purchased, and at 
what prices, and to report at an adjourned meeting. The legis- 
lature in the mean time passed an act, April 8, 1829, author- 
izing the supervisors to sell the house and gi'ound then owned, 
and to appropriate the proceeds to the purchase of a new one, 
and to raise by tax a sum sufficient to meet the expense of such 
purchase, but not to exceed the amount of §4,000. 

The farm of Stephen Martineau, located in the town of North- 
field, and containing about one hundred acres, was purchased 
for $3,000, and on the 30th of April, 1830, the old property was 




ARROCHAR. 

RESIDENCE OF W. W, MAC FARLAND 
Clifton. N. Y, 



v*T(i-^-\«s.^ ^. 'ixtv.'.'ivtt-t^ s. ^- 



HISTORY OF RICHiMOND COUNTY. 647 

sold to William D. Maltbie for $150. This lies near Richmond, 
opposite the parsonage of St. Andrew's church. 

On the 18th of October, 1836, the supervisors purchased four- 
teen and eight-tenths acres of salt meadow from John Egbert 
for $205. On the 7th day of January, 1842, the supervisors 
Ijurchased five acres of woodland adjoining the county farm on 
the west, from William Decker, for $250. 

The establishment has been regularly maintained, new build- 
ings have been erected as circumstances developed their neces- 
sity, among which are apartments for the insane, a pest house, 
and a respectable school house. 

The " Staten Island Diet Kitchen," a benevolent association, 
having for its object the supplying of wholesome, nutritious 
food to the sick poor, was organized at the parlor of the Ger- 
man Club rooms at New Brighton, Thursday afternoon, Decem- 
ber 8, 1881. The "kitchen" was opened January 9, 1882, and 
the association was incorporated June 21, of the same year. 
The ofBcers then elected were : Mrs. W. W. Macfarland, presi- 
dent ; Mrs. Lowery, vice-president ; Mrs. F. U. Johnson, secre- 
tary ; Mrs. L. H. Meyer, treasurer. The charter members of 
the association were : S. B. Macfarland, Eliza Macdonald, Mar- 
garet A. Johnston, Caroline L. Peniston, A. C. H. Meyer, Eliz- 
abeth W. Clark, Clara K. Oehme, Mary T. Ripley, Reverend J. 
C. Eccleston, L. H. Meyer. The first ofiicers were : Mrs. W. 
W. Macfarland, president ; Mrs. Francis Macdonald and Mrs. 
Daniel how, vice-presidents ; Miss Peniston, treasurer ; Mrs. 
F. U. Johnston, secretary ; Mrs. George B. Ripley, assistant 
secretary; Mrs. W. W. Clark, auditor; Mrs. F. G. Oehme, pur- 
chaser; Mrs. L. H. Meyei", bookkeeper. 

The work of the society is maintained by subscriptions, dona- 
tions in money, and contributions of various articles of food, 
delicacies, fiowers, etc. The treasurer's report for the first year 
showed the sum of $1,084.77 received in cash, and $803.77 ex- 
pended. In response to the requisitions of the physicians du- 
ring the year 2,756 orders were filled to 540 patients, in 2,115 
pints of beef tea, 540 pints of mutton broth, 69 pints of chicken 
broth, 2,901 pints of milk, 399 portions of farina, 191 of rice, 
194 of oat meal, 183 of hominy, 11 of barley and grits, and 1,210 
eggs. There had also been substantial donations of meats, 
fruits and luxuries at Thanksgiving and Christmas times, 



648 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

which the "kitchen" had been able to distribute among those 
who would appreciate them. 

The presiding ofRcers have been the same from the begin- 
ning. The treasurer is now Mrs. Edward L. Bridgman (for- 
mei'ly Miss Low), one of the original directresses. The meetings 
of the association are held on the first Tuesday of each month 
at the "kitchen." 

The corner-stone of a new building for the purposes of the 
association was laid Januaiy 9, 1886, most of the ceremonies 
connected therewith being held at the house of the president, 
on account of inclement weather. 

There are several cemeteries on the island, among which are 
the Staten Island and Fountain cemeteries, at West New 
Brighton , the cemetery of St. Peter's church, on the Clove 
road ; Silver Mount and Woodlawn cemeteries on Richmond 
turnpike, in Middletown ; Springville and Sylvan cemeteries, 
in Northfield ; St. Mary's cemetery in Southfield, and the Mo- 
ldavian cemetery at New Dorp. 

The latter, containing over sixty acres, is larger than all the 
others combined. This was a burial ground more than twenty 
years before the Moravians obtained possession of the land. It 
is a site of great natural beauty, and this has been greatly im- 
X)roved by the hand of art, in regulating the grade, clearing the 
wild growth off, constructing a pond, planting trees, and water- 
ing and keeping in order the velvet-like sward with which the 
older established parts of the ground are covered. It contains 
several objects of special interest. One of these is the tomb of 
Commodore Vanderbilt. This stands on the elevated ground, 
about ten rods west of the church. The tomb is a granite 
structure, rather |)lain in design, about ten by twelve feet on 
the ground and twelve feet high, surmounted by a pyramidal 
spire, six feet square at the base and twenty feet high. The 
cemetery also contains a number .of handsome monuments, 
among which is that erected to the memory of Colonel Robert 
G. Shaw. In this cemetery is also located the magnificent 
mausoleum of William H. Vanderbilt. This was begun during 
the summer of 1885, and was several months in process of con- 
struction. 

Besides those already mentioned there are numerous other re- 
I)Ositoriesof the dead, of smaller size, many of which are located 
around or near .some of the churches of the island. In that of the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 649 

Dutch Reformed church at Port Richmond may be found the 
family names of Van Pelt, Cortelyou, Haughvvout, Zeluff, Cor- 
sen, De Hart, Merrell, De Groot, Kruser, Mersereau, Prall, 
Post, Housman, Crocheron, Tysen, Jaques, Martling, Vreeland 
and Van Name. In the churchyard of St. Andrew's Episcopal 
church at Richmond we find among others the following family 
names : Taylor, Journeay, Crocheron, S^guine, McQueen, Lake, 
Barnes, Parkinson, Guyon, Disosway, Holmes, Betts, Moore, 
Blake, Egbert, Biddle, Butler, Silva, Wandel, Mersereau, Prall, 
Seaman, Mundy, Poillon, Van Diizer, Jones, Lockraan, Perine, 
Bedell, Van Dyke, Larzelere, Latourette, La Forge, Bowne, 
Robins, Dongan, Alston, Hillyer, Wood, Braisted, Simonson, 
Metcalfe and Johnson. 

The works of the Staten Island Water Supply Company were 
begun in 1880. Steps were taken to provide a water supply for 
the village of New Brighton as early as 1879. A contract was 
entered in August of that year, but nothing was done. The 
contract was again made on October 5, 1880, and work was be- 
gun. The works were built by John Lockwood and associates, 
under a contract with the company, for one hundred thousand 
dollars in cash and two hundred thousand dollars in stock. 
The works progressed during the season of 1881, and by the end 
of July they were completed. The works were first operated 
on August 4, 1881. The formal completion, however, was dated 
September 29, 1881. At that time the water supply was at the 
rale of one million gallons a day. The pumping engine had a 
capacity of delivering one and a quarter million gallons a day 
into a reservoir two hundred and ten feet above tide. The well 
from which water is taken is twenty-seven feet deep and thir- 
teen feet in diameter, giving an exhaustless supply of beautiful, 
clear water. Cast iron mains to the extent of eighteen thou- 
sand feet in length were laid to the reservoir, and about fifteen 
miles of delivery pipes through the streets of New Brighton 
were laid. The reservoir on Fort hill occupies a lot of land one 
hundred and thirty by one hundred feet, and has a depth of 
seventeen feet. It is estimated to hold six hundred thousand 
gallons. The village of New Brighton was supplied with one 
hundred and fifty hydrants. 

In the summer of 1882 an additional plot of ground was 
purchased in the rear of the engine house, and a new pumping 



650 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

engine and boiler were put in, having a capacity of one and a 
half million gallons in ten hours. 

The company was granted permission, by the town board 
of Northfield, to lay their pipes in that town July 25, 1881, 
to leave all roads in as good condition as they found them, 
and to complete their contract in five years. 

Some preliminary surveys were made with a view to locating 
the "Crystal Water Works," at the deep ravine back of Eg- 
bertville, in July, 1883. The scheme contemplated the con- 
struction of a large reservoir, which would have an elevation of 
one hundred and thirty-seven feet above the sea, and the work 
was to V)e done by November following. Another site was, 
however, found and this field of operations was abandoned. 
Works were erected at Bull's head. Water was led thence to 
New Brighton, and a reservoir constructed at Castleton corners. 
A tank was erected on Grymes hill, which has a capacity of 
eighty thousand gallons. The pumping station, erected at 
Bull's head, has a capacity of one million five hundred thou- 
sand gallons a day, the water being drawn from ten wells. A 
distributing reservoir, having a capacity of four million gallons, 
was constructed, and a pumping station at the junction of Clove 
and Little Clove roads, for elevating water from the large main 
to the tank on Grymes hill. In August, 1885, the companj^ had 
mains extending into New Brighton, Northfield and Middle- 
town. 

The Sailoks' Snug Harbor. 

The title of this institution was given by its founder. The 
motto is that of its seal, which was adopted July 7, 1806, and 
signifies that those who are disabled by the toils and dangers 
of the sea here take refuge in a place of rest and safety. Over 
the main entrance stands a memorial window of nautical de- 
sign, rich in varied and brilliant color, containing the following 
synopsis of its history. 

" Sailors" Snug Harbor, 
for aged, decrepit and worn out Sailors, 
founded by 
Robert Richard Randall. 
" How great, how plentiful, how rich a dower." 
" Founded 1801. Incorporated 1806. Erected 1831. Dedi- 
cated 1833." 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 651 

Though compai'atively little is known of the early history of 
its founder, no stroke of doubtful tradition, or touch of fiction 
is needed to lead us to a view of his character. Stripped of the 
fog of unreliable legend and tales founded on surmise or mixed 
with the specious pleadings of contestants of his will, we have 
presented the fact that a sea captain, actuated by sympathy 
for the unfortunate of his own profession, carefully and 
wisely matured a plan for their benefit and generously devised 
for its establishment and i)ermanence. 

By deed bearing date June 5, 1790. Frederick Charles Hans 
Bruno Paelintz — commonly called Baron Paelintz — conveyed 
for five thousand pounds to Robert Richard Randall the prop- 
erty known as the " Minto farm," consisting of twenty-one 
acres and more of land lying in the (now) Fifteenth ward of New 
York city, the southern boundary of which was then the upper 
end of Broadway. Fourteen acres of this land was under the 
Stoutenburgh patent, from Gov. Petrus Stuyvesant to Petrus 
Stoutenburgh April 7, 1661, and about seven acres from the 
Perro family; both tracts having been in the years 1766 and 
1768 conveyed to Andrew Elliot, and in 1785 conveyed to John 
Jay, Isaac Rosevelt and Alexander Hamilton, and by them 
July 8, 1787, to Baron Paelintz. 

The mansion on this estate was built of brick and was one of 
the most notable residences of the city. It was erected by 
Lieut. -Gov. Andrew Elliot, who was a son of Sir Gilbert Elliot, 
lord chief justice, clerk of Scotland. In 1764 he received the 
appointment of collector and receiver-general of the province 
of New York, where he established his residence. 

In 1780 he was appointed lieutenant-governor of the province, 
performing the duties of governor until the city was evacuated 
by the British. His daughter was married here to Lord, after- 
ward Earl Cathcart, then a major in the British army, on duty 
in this city. In this house Captain Randall resided from 1790 
till the time of his death, which occurred June 5, 1801, and 
near it he was buried. 

In the early corporation manuals of the city Captain Randall 
is spoken of as a merchant and a ship master, and was uniformly 
by his contemporaries styled " Captain," both historically and 
in the recorded proceedings of the trustees by him appointed. 

In 1771 Captain Randall, then a young man, became a mem- 
ber of the marine society of New York, an organization for the 



652 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

relief of indigent and distressed masters of vessels, their 
Avidows and orphan children. The leaven of his inspiration to 
provide an asylum for the needy sailor may be traceable to his 
long connection and intimate acquaintance with the work of 
this society, and to his knowledge of the fact that provision 
such as he devised would so far relieve the society as to enable 
it the better to provide for the wants of widows and orphans; 
which result his action did in fact accomplish. Further evi- 
dence of this design as well as of his confidence in the society, 
is shown by his naming as trustees under the will, its president 
and vice-president. In 1778 he became a member of the Cham- 
ber of Commerce of 'New York. The president of this body he 
also named as a trustee. 

The property left by Captain Randall for the Sailors' Snug 
Harbor consisted of the "Minto farm" and four lots in the 
First ward of the city, together with stocks valued at about ten 
thousand dollars. The four lots in the First ward he inherited 
from his father, Thomas Randall, a merchant of New York, who 
died in 1797, leaving two other children: PaulR. and Catharine, 
wife of George Brewerton, and appointing Catharine his execu- 
trix. Both the other children survived Robert Richard. 

In his will Captain Randall, after bequeathing certain specific 
legacies, gave the residue of his estate, real and jaersonal, unto 
the chancellor of the state of New York, the mayor and the 
recorder of the city of New York, the president of the Chamber 
of Commerce of New York, the president and vice-president of 
the Marine Society of New York, the senior minister of the 
Episcopal church in said city, and the senior minister of the 
Presbyterian church in said city, for the time being, and their 
respective successors in the said offices, forever in trust, for the 
purpose of maintaining aged, decrepit and worn out sailors. 
He also expressed therein his desii-e that the said trustees 
should apiily to the legislature for an act of incorporation, if 
his intent could thereby be better executed. Such an act of in- 
corjioration was passed February 6, 1806. 

It was Captain Randall's intention, as expressed in the will, 
that the Sailors' Snug Harbor should be located on the estate 
conveyed; but with the delay incident to a sufficient increase of 
income properly to conform with his stipulation — that the pro- 
ceeds of the said estate should be sufficient to "support fiftj^ of 
the said sailors and upwards" — the changes attending the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 653 

growth of the city and other " impervious circumstances," ren- 
dered it advisable in the judgment of the trustees to address a 
memorial to the legislature in February, 1817, for authoi'ity to 
locate the institution elsewhere; suggesting a site at the entrance 
of the harbor or on the margin of the bay, and representing 
that they were tendered gratuitously for such purpose a lot of 
land — not less than ten acres — situate on the bay between 
Fort Diamond and the quarantine ground. This generous 
offer was made by his excellency Governor Daniel D. Tompkins, 
who aided General Hamilton in the drawing of the will of Cap- 
tain Randall. Notwithstanding repeated apjilications to the 
same effect, amendment to the act of incorporation enabling 
the accomplishment of this design was not obtained until April 
19, 1828. The death of Governor Tompkins in the meantime 
rendered his proffer unavailable. 

In March, 1830, the last of the many suits which had been 
pressed by alleged heirs of Captain Randall was finally settled 
by the supreme court of the United States. The harass and 
anxiety to which the trustees had for a quarter of a century 
been subjected was forever ended, and the legal acumen of the 
great lawyers who drew the will was demonstrated. 

After visiting many proposed sites on Long Island and on 
Staten Island, Captains John Whetten and William Whitlock, 
president and vice-president of the Marine Society, having been 
duly authorized, selected the present location, and in May, 1831, 
concluded its purchase. Proposals for the erection of buildings 
thereon were at once advertised for, and the work of construc- 
tion began. October 21, 1831, the corner stone of the Sailors" 
Snug Harbor was laid with appropriate ceremonies, Chancellor 
Walworth delivering the address. 

August 1, 1833, the dedicatory services took place and the 
institution was formally opened. Thirty seamen were then 
installed as inmates, and addressed by Reverend Doctor 
Phillips, Captain John Whetten, of the board of trustees, then 
being the governor in charge. 

The opening by the city authorities of Eighth street through 
the Randall property, rendered it necessary to remove Captain 
Randall's remains from his chosen resting place, and on June 
21, 1825, they were conveyed by tlie trustees to St. Mark's 
church and there deposited in a vault, to await the selection of 
a tinal place of burial. August 21, 1834, they were removed 



654 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

thence to Staten Island, where they were awaited by the inmates 
of the " Harbor," who, uniformly clad in blue jackets and white 
trousers, followed them in silent procession to the marble mon- 
ument erected to his memory in front of the center building of 
the institution, beneath which they were deposited and now re- 
pose. The following is a copy of the inscription on this memorial 
stone, which was added in the following year : 

NortJt side. 

" The Trustees of the Sailors' Snug Harbor erected this monu- 
ment to the memory of Robert Richard Randall, by whose 
munificence this institution was founded." 

East side. 

" The humane institution of the Sailors' Snug Harbor con- 
ceived in a spirit of enlarged benevolence with an endowment 
which time has proved fully adequate to the objects of the donor, 
and organized in a manner which shows wisdom and foresight. 
The founder of this noble charity will ever be held in grateful 
remembrance by the partakers of his bounty." 

South side. 
" Charity never faileth ; 
Its memory is immortal." 
West side. 

" The Trustees of the Sailors' Snug Harbor have caused the 
remains of Robert Richard Randall to be removed from the 
original place of interment and deposited beneath this monu- 
ment on the 21st of August, 1834." 

Great praise is due for the excellent judgment evinced i-n the 
choice of the site for the institution. It is a situation as health- 
ful as it is beautiful, and commands by day a constantly 
' changing view of the waters of the Kill Von KuU and the har- 
bor, and at night is in sight of the lights of the great bridge, 
which, like a sti'ing of Hashing diamonds, unites the two great 
cities of New York and Brooklyn ; while that of the adjoining 
country affords a sense of peaceful quiet in delightful contrast. 

The original tract contained one hundred and thirty acres, to 
which, within a few years, thirty-five acres more were added, 
and still more recent acquisitions have increased it to about one 
hundred and eighty acres, furnishing a present frontage of 
nearly two thousand feet. Thirty acres on the front are en- 
closed by a substantial iron fence with granite coping, within 
which are erected the buildings, thirty-five in all. There are 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 655 

eight large dormitory buildings, capable of accommodating one 
thousand men, a hospital with beds for two hundred patients, 
whicli compares favorably in all respects with the best in the 
land, a church, dwellings of officers and employees, laundry 
and clothesrooms, machine shop, with engine room attached, 
blacksmith shop, carpenter shop, with steam sawing and plan- 
ing machines, paint shop, boiler houses, ice house of six hun- 
dred and fifty tons capacity, constructed with refrigerating 
and meat rooms, kitchen buildings, morgue, hot houses, lodges 
and barns ; also sheds for building materials. 

In the central building are located, on the ground floor, the 
governor's suite of offices, the reception rooms, library and 
reading rooms, all opening out of the grand entrance hall, 
which rises to the full height of the building and is surmounted 
with a dome. This hall and the principal rooms are handsomely 
embellished in fresco and stained glass ; the designs, though 
varied in subject, are mainly of a nautical and astronomical 
character. Pacing you, upon entering, stands the marble bust of 
the founder. In the reception room hang the portraits in oil of 
the formergovernorsof theinstitution and other paintings. This 
hall, about fifty feet in depth, is bisected by another, which ex- 
tends east and west through the entire chain of the five con- 
nected buildings; about five hundred feet from which there is 
an entrance to the chapel for morning and evening service. This 
is also tastefully and appropriately decorated. 

These five buildings are connected by two wide corridors and 
a covered way with three rear main buildings. These corridors, 
suitably furnished, serve as recreation and sitting rooms. The 
central rear building contains the four dining-rooms, steward's 
office and store-rooms, and from this a corridor connects with 
the main kitchen below, and the matron's office and clothes- 
rooms above. The face of the five front edifices is of marble 
with massive columns, and the hospital is of granite of similar 
style; otherwise the buildings are of brick with stone or iron 
trimmings. The yards and courtways adjoining the buildings 
are neatly kept and pleasing views are gained from the win- 
dows. A continuous lawn, elegant in the wealth of its grand 
elms, extends across the entire front. 

About fifty thousand gallons of water per day are furnished 
from springs at the rear of the property, and a reservoir with 
a capacity of five hundred thousand gallons is available in 



656 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

case of fire or other emergency and also serves for washing pur- 
jDoses. 

On May 30, 1884, occurred the unveiling of a heroic statue 
in bronze of the founder, by Augustus St. Gaudens. Addresses 
upon the occasion were made by the Hon. Algernon S. Sullivan 
and Hon. Pkastus Brooks. It is erected upon a pedestal of 
polished granite and located uijon the lawn between the main 
buildings and the governor's residence, upon a slight elevation 
which commands a pleasing view of the surrounding and ad- 
jacent lawns and the park beyond. 

Looking southward on a June day the eye traverses a plain of 
beauty, picturesque and rare. Gravel walks intersect the green 
expanse, the limits of which, rendered deceptive by the artistic 
grouping of varied and ornamental shrubs, and serve as rambles 
past beds of radiant rhododendrons and fragrant azaleas to the 
little lake beyond, whose glittering Surface mirrors shadows of 
surrounding beauty, and serves as the arena for contesting 
miniature yachts constructed and sailed by the inmates. The 
lake is fed by an artificial brooklet springing from a rocky bed, 
spanned by a rustic bridge, which forms a link in the path 
which encirles the lake and connects with the driveways from 
the southern and western gates. But perhaps some of the 
loveliest and most diversified views upon this beautiful island 
are obtained from the upper wards and balconies of the hospital. 

Beyond the limits of the grounds proper, the land of the in- 
stitution is devoted to the production of milk, vegetables, and 
supplies for the inmates. In providing for their other numer- 
ous requirements, it may be said that, in the fullest sense, 
everything needful for their comfort is furnished in a liberal 
and thoughtful manner. Suitable workrooms and facilities are 
available to such inmates as desire to engage in light employ- 
ments, like the manufacture of baskets, useful and ornamental 
mats, hammocks, nets, and miniature craft of all rigs, which 
are disposed of for their own benefit. This is a feature of the 
institution interesting to visitors. The regular religious services 
are conducted in the Presbyterian form, but Roman Catholics 
are permitted to attend churches of that faith. Beneficiaries 
of the institution must be of the class denominated by the 
founder: "aged, decrepit and worn out sailors," who have 
sailed at least five years under the fiag of the United States. 

Rules and regulations tending to good order and the comfort 



HISTORY OP RICHMOND COUNTy. 657 

and welfare of all the inmates, are assented to by each upon 
entering the institution, as conditions of enjoying its privi- 
leges. 

The total number admitted up to June 1, 1886, is 3,175, of 
whom 805 were those remaining, including twenty in asylums 
for the insane, where they are provided for at the expense of 
this institution. The mortality of the inmates is about ten per 
cent, per annum. 

In the numerous departments necessary to the proper con- 
duct of the affairs of this little municipality is everywhere 
evidenced that systematic and harmonious action due to care- 
fully devised method and wise administration. The prudence, 
sagacity and fidelity which has uniformly characterized the 
management of the trustees, which is, perhaps, without a 
parallel in the history of public charities, is forcibly indicated 
by the fact that in addition to the vast amount expended in 
bringing this institution to its present condition of excellence, 
and in fulfilling every requirement of the trust, the annual in- 
come, which, in 1806, was $4,243, is now increased one hun- 
dred fold. 

Men sometimes build even more wisely than they plan, and 
the marvelous growth of New York has made Captain Ran- 
dall's bequest valuable beyond his thinking; yet the form of 
his bequest displays a wisdom commensurate to all possible 
growth and contingency. Familiar with the characteristics of 
seamen, the vicissitudes of their lives, knowing their helpless- 
ness as a class when deprived of their accustomed vocation, 
and in full sympathy with their needs, his one great object was 
to provide "for aged, decrepit and worn out sailors." Tlie 
elaboration of a plan for the fultilment of this purpose, which 
circumstances and events impossible to foresee would be likely 
to frustrate, was wisely avoided; but with his purpose clearly 
indicated he selected representative men, who by their posi- 
tions and professions, would be best qualified to administer the 
trust. His will is dominated by a settled idea; it is not the 
chance disposal of a fortune he knew not what to do with, or 
the mere good-natured befriending of the sailor in response to 
some chance suggestion. No man was in a better position than 
himself to know the desirability of such a charity. The man 
who generously dedicated his fortune to this purpose, and 
wisely directed its husbanding until the plan could be applied 
42 



658 HISTORY OF niCHMOND COUNTY. 

on a reasonably large scale, had the qualities of heart and head 
to devise it. 

The Sailors' Snug Harbor is itself the most appropriate 
monument to the memory of a man who deserves in the highest 
degree the gratitude of his beneficiaries, and the admiration 
of the world at large. It is grander and larger, perhaps, than 
its founder dreamed of, yet in its greatest development it is 
but the culmination and completion of the general purpose of 
Captain Randall. Had the property not increased so remark- 
ably in value, the same instruments would have been the best 
to conserve and administer the more humble estate. But great 
or small, the gift was a noble one, the object was a worthy one, 
the manner was wise, and with all credit to those who have so 
well fullilled the trust imposed in them, the man who is, and 
will be, and should be commemorated by this unique and benefi- 
cent institution is Robert Richard Randall. 

The officers and managers of the institution in 1886 were as 
follows : 

Board of Trustees :* William R. Grace, mayor of the city of 
New York; Frederick Smythe, recorder of the city of New 
York; James M. Brown, president Chamber of Commerce; 
Ambrose Snow, president Marine Society of N. Y. ; Edward G. 
Tinker, vice-president Marine Society of N. Y.; Rev. Morgan 
Dix, D.D., rector of Trinity church; Rev. Richard D. Harlan, 
minister First Presbyterian church. 

Officers of the Board. — Ambrose Snow, president; Thomas 
Greenleaf, secretary and controller; Richard Luce, agent. 

Resident Officers : G. D. S. Trask, governor; Henry D. Joy, 
resident physician; S. V. R. Bogert, consulting physician; 
Charles J. Jones, chaplain; Joseph K. Clark, steward. 

Subordinates : Charles A. Decker, builder; J. H. Miles, chief 
engineer; Hugh Clark, farmer; Mrs. A. G. Hammond, matron. 

The governors of the institution have been since its establish- 
ment, Capt. John Whetten, from August, 183-5, to September, 
1844; Dr. S. V. R. Bogert (acting), from September, 1844 to 
September, 1845; Capt. A. F. Depeyster, from September, 
1845, to November, 1867; Capt. Thomas Melville, from Novem- 
ber, 1867, to March, 1884; Capt. G. D. S. Trask, from March, 
1884, the pi-esent incumbent. 

* By the new constitution of the State of New York, adopted November, 1846, 
the office of chancellor was abolished from and after tlie first Monday of July, 
1847. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 659 

The general arrangement of the various buildings and grounds 
at the "Harbor" proves conclusively that, from its conception 
to the present moment, its destiny has been guided by the hand 
of refinement and judgment. Its marble and granite blocks, 
which adorn the prominent portions of the main buildings, 
stand out in bold relief, and aid to form the picture, which is 
completed by the beautiful surroundings. Gracefully curving 
walks and drives wind their way through the velvet lawns, 
which are tastefully dotted by rare and fragrant flowers, and 
shaded by broad elms that have become a pride to those who 
look upon the "Harbor" only in the light of home. The little 
silvery lake, whose pure and silent water reflects the soft green 
shadows along its rugged edge, adds a dreamy fascination to 
the scene, and furnishes material for reflection to those brave 
old seamen who have come here to await their summons to em- 
bark upon the waters of eternity. 

It is while contemplating tliis scene that one can appreciate 
the hallowed motive of him whose heart and mind laid the 
foundation of this institution, and whose beneficence gave a 
home to brave men that will live on through the generations to 
come, embalmed, as it were, with their prayers and gratitude 
and thankfulness. Growing, as it does, each year, in import- 
ance and usefulness; fostered, guarded and beloved by one 
faithful trustee after another, as time and death enter their 
little circle, it seems impossible to contemplate the limit of its 
lasef ulness, or the ending of its power to alleviate the sufferings 
of those who have "gone down to sea in ships," and at last, 
homeless and decrepit, have anchored safely in this protecting 
harbor. 

There is a mystic tradition that Michael Angelo, the greatest 
of artists, at one time deXerrained to make the grandest effort of 
his life — to place upon canvas a painting that would live on and 
on, as a monument to his memory. But, after spending a 
number of years at the task, death came to him, and the work 
was left unfinished. More than one artist undertook the task 
of completing the jucture, but each attempt only proved a fail- 
ure. It requires no imaginary effort to place the Sailors' Snug 
Harbor beside tlie great painting of Michael Angelo. The noble 
work was begun by Captain Robert Richard Randall, no doubt 
with equal pride and ambition; but other hands were called to 
render it complete. How beautifully have their efforts been 



660 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

crowned ! How noble and grand is its mission ; for it stands 
to-day without a peer — without a rival in the world. 

Police and Fire Departments. 

In 1867 the law placed Staten Island within the jurisdiction 
of the Metropolitan police force of New York city. A small 
force of men were enlisted and detailed for the express duty of 
patrolling the island. Criminals arrested by those officer's were 
taken before police justices within the limits of Edgewater and 
New Brighton, and throughout the remainder of the county 
they were disposed of by justices of the peace. 

In 1870 a law was enacted by the legislature which made 
Kichmond county a separate police district, and gave it power 
to establish a dejpartment with its essential duties and pow- 
ers. The act placed the control of the department under three 
commissioners, who are elected by an appointing board, con- 
sisting of the county judge and the iive supervisors of the 
county. These commissioners must be residents of the county, 
and are elected for three years, the term of office of one of the 
board expiring on the 10th of May annually; but shall hold 
office until his successor is appointed and duly qualified. The 
expenses of the department are provided for in the county 
budget, adopted by the sui>ervisors, and are collected from all 
real and personal property subject to taxation. 

On May 9, 1870, Messrs. William C. Denyse, of Middletown; 
Abram C. Wood, of Castleton, and Garrett P. Wright, of 
]Sorthfield, having been elected commissioners, met to organ- 
ize. They "drew lots'' as to terms with the following result: 
Mr. Wood, one year; Mr. Denyse, two years; and Mr. Wright, 
three years. Mr. Wood was elected president; George H. 
Hitchcock, chief clerk; John Laforge, captain; Dr. Isaac Lea, 
surgeon; James J. Esterbrook, sergeant; Daniel Blake, rounds- 
man; Edward Roe, Alexander Mcllhargy, Edward Brice, Robert 
Lyons, James E. Brown, Stephen McEvoy, Alexander Young 
and Edward F. Roy, patrolmen. 

May 20th the various incorporated villages made a demand 
upon the department for police as follows: Port Richmond, 7; 
New Brighton, 7; Edgewater, 14, and Tottenville (which was an 
incorporated village for about ten weeks), 2. The experiment 
of having mounted police was made during the first month, but 
was soon abandoned. One of the first general orders issued at 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. C61 

headquarters was the careful observance of the excise laws. 
Ou the 28th of June a police station was established in Port 
Richmond, opposite the park, in a building belonging to ex- 
Chief Engineer Decker, of the old volunteer fire department of 
New York city. During the first year the force was increased 
to thirty men. 

In May, 1871, the appointing board unanimously elected one 
of its number, George W. Ellis, supervisor from Westfield. 
Mr. Wood, the outgoing commissioner, earnestly protested 
against the election; nevertheless Mr. Ellis took his seat as 
commissioner and was made president of the board. The mat- 
ter was strenuously fought in the courts, and was finally set- 
tled, after a period of four months, in the court of appeals, 
against Mr. Ellis. During Mr. Ellis' incumbency, however, a 
number of changes were made in the department. Commis- 
sioner Wright refrained from attending any of the meetings of 
the board. Captain Laforge refused to obey the orders of Presi- 
dent Ellis and was suspended, and notwithstanding an effort 
was made by his friends to re-instate him at a later period, he 
was unsuccessful, and Sergeant M. I. Holbrook was appointed 
in his place. Chief Clerk Hitchcock also refused to obey orders, 
and Peter H. Wandel was appointed to serve in his place. Mr. 
Isaac M. Marsh was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by Mr. 
Ellis' departure, and besides being president of the board for a 
number of years was repeatedly re-elected until May, 1883, when 
he retired, and was succeeded by Mr. Edward P. Barton. Under 
the reorganization of the board Mr. Hitchcock was reappointed 
clerk. 

In May, 1872, Major Clarence T. Barrett, of Castleton, was 
elected commissioner, and served until 1878, when he was suc- 
ceeded by Mr. Philip Wolff, of Middletown. 

At the October term of the court of oyer and terminer. 
Judge Tappen took occasion to compliment the police depart- 
ment of the island in very flattering terms for the efficient aid 
it was rendering the courts in detecting and aiding to punish 
criminals. 

Mr. Wright served as commissioner until 1879, when he was 
succeeded by Francis McQuade. In 1882, Mr. R. B. Whitte- 
more, of Castleton, was appointed. 

October 21, 1880, chief clerk Hitchcock resigned and Mr. 
George W. Ellis was appointed to succeed him. 



662 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Tlie organization of the department at present is as follows : 
Commissioners — Richard B. Whittemore, president; Philip 
Wolflf, treasurer; Gaston D. L'Huillier, purchasing committee; 
George W. Ellis, chief clerk; Isaac Lea, M. D., surgeon; Daniel 
Blake, captain; Joseph Cobb and Paul Cornell, sergeants; 
Thomas Drummond, Philip Sharrott, John H. Cook and Henry 
Brand, roundsmen, acting sergeants. 

There are forty-two regular patrolmen and about the same 
number of special officers serving under the department au- 
thority, but not drawing pay from the county. 

The headquarters of the department is at Station No. 1, Bay 
street, Edgewater. Station No. 2 is a handsome new building 
located on Richmond terrace, near Broadway, West New 
Brighton. The stations at Port Richmond and Tottenville were 
long ago abandoned. The last appropriation made for the 
maintenance of the department was $54,000. 

A second attempt to render the force moi-e efficient by hav- 
ing mounted patrolmen, was made during the winter of 1883-4, 
when a number of good horses and necessary accoutrements 
were purchased. The men selected to perform that branch of 
the service unfortunately were not used to the saddle, and the 
experiment was, after a brief trial, given up, greatly to the 
regret of residents in retired parts of the island. 

The force is a credit to the island, and is composed of men 
who are directly interested in its progress and welfare, being, 
probably, without an exception, real estate holders. The 
strictest discipline is enforced, and the men have grown to look 
upon their routine life in a similar light to that of regular 
soldiei-s who know nothing beyond the straight lines of duty. 

The Edgewater Fire Department was organized in 1871, with 
Benjamin Brown as chief engineer. James R. Robinson and 
James Garvey were afterward elected chiefs. The department 
was re-organized in 1879, with William Burbank as chief. 

The following companies form the department : Niagara En- 
gine Company, No. 5 (organized in 1873 as the Neptune Hose 
Company, and re-organized in 1878 as an engine company); 
Neptune Engine Company, No. 6, organized 1867; Protective 
Engine Company, No. 7, organized October 16, 1858; Clifton 
Engine Company, No. 8, organized June 2, 1863; Rescue En- 
gine Company, No. 9, organized May 1, 1879; Enterprise Hook 
and Ladder Company, No. 1, organized December 5, 1856; 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 66^ 

Columbia Hook and Ladder Company, No. 5, organized March 
15, 1880; Neptune Hose Company, No. 1, organized March 16, 
1878; Benjamin Brown Hose Company, No. 3, organized Jan- 
uary 1, 1869; Clifton Hose Company, No. 6, organized Septem- 
ber 6, 1863; Robinson Hose Company, No. 9, organized Feb- 
ruary 17, 1880; Excelsior Bucket Company, No. 1, organized 
October 20, 1858; Relief Bucket Company, No. 2, organized 
May 11, 1863, also has a chemical engine attached; Tompkins- 
ville Fire Police Company, organized 1859. 

The officers of the department at present are as follows : 
Chief engineer, William Schick; assistants, James Lestrange 
and Thomas Willshaw. 

The board of representatives, which is composed of two mem- 
bers for each company, holds regular monthly meetings in the 
village hall. The officers are as follows : President, N. J. 
Macklin; vice-president, John Potthoff ; secretary, Joseph 
Scott; treasurer, Robert Goggin. 

Much valuable property has been rescued from destruction 
by the efficiency of this department. The men receive no 
compensation for their services, and the annual appropriation, 
which is divided among the various companies, am.ounts to 
only $2,500. There are four hundred active firemen on the 
rolls. 

The North Shore Fire Department, which is composed of the 
companies located in the towns of Castleton and Northfield, 
was organized on April 2, 1874, and was chartei'ed on March 
10, 1875. The first meeting of the board of representatives 
was held in the house of Zephyr Hose Company, Port Rich- 
mond, on Monday, May 18, 1874, when W. M. Washburne was 
elected jjresident and Wilbur F. Disosway secretary. The 
following companies formed the department: Washington En- 
gine No. 1, Port Richmond; Cataract Engine No. 2, West 
Brighton; Port Richmond Engine No. 3; New Brighton Engine 
No. 4; Zephyr Hose Company No. 4, Port Richmond, and 
Medora Hook and Ladder Company No. 3, of West Brighton. 

Immediately after the companies were drawn together as one 
organization, a parade was held, which seemed to create a good 
feeling throughout the department, the effect of which is quite 
visible even to-day. Visiting companies and distinguished 
guests were present, and it was a gala day for Staten 
Island. 



664 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Later, a movement was made to create the office of fire 
marshal for the county; but it was so strenuously oi:)posed by 
this department that it never took effect. 

At times two or three companies have been rendered in- 
capable of efficient service through the loss of members; but 
dui'ing the past two or three years special efforts were made 
to revive the old time spirit of the department. Credit is due 
to Chief Engineer E. A. Bourne, who has just retired from 
office, for materially aiding to reorganize the department and 
to replace it upon an efficient footing. The most successful 
firemen's parade ever witnessed on the north shore was under 
Chief Bourne's command on Thanksgiving day, 1885. Two 
great conflagrations will ever cause this officer's memory to be 
honored by the citizens of New Brighton, viz.: the burning of 
the cotton warehouse at Tompkinsville, on January 20th, 
where the firemen were in service for days; and the burning of 
Bodine Brothers' lumber yard, West Brighton, on March 1, 
1886. The latter occurred during the severest weather of the 
month, and continued for two days and two nights, during a 
heavy wind that threatened to spread the flames for miles along 
the north shore, and to totally destroy at least two-thirds of 
New Brighton. The department, aided by friendly companies 
from Bergen Point, under the direction of Chief Bourne, re- 
mained at the posts of peril until there was no longer any 
danger. A single mistake on the part of the chief would have 
lain waste the most valuable part of the village. 

The department now is composed of the following companies: 
Washington Engine Company No. 1, Port Richmond, organized 
October 7, 1853; Cataract Steam Engine Company No. 2, West 
New Brighton, organized August 19, 1844; Port Richmond 
Steam Engine Company No. 3, organized August 24, 1859; 
New Brighton Steam Engine Company No. 4, organized Oc- 
tober 4, 1856; Aquehonga Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, 
Mariners' Harbor, organized January 1, 1879; Granite Hook 
and Ladder Company No. 2, Graniteville, organized August 4, 
1881; Medora Hook and Ladder Company No. 3, West New 
Brighton, organized June 10, 1868; Friendship Hook and 
Ladder Company No. 4, New Brighton, organized August 8, 
1876; Zephyr Hose Company No. 4, Port Richmond, organized 
February 22, 1861; Oceanic Hook and Ladder Company, Travis- 
ville, organized 1880; Steady Stream Hose and Bucket 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 665 

Company No. 2, Port Richmond, organized November 14, 
1885; Alert Hose Company No. 1, New Brighton, organized 
1885; Lafayette Hose Company No. 3, New Brighton, organ- 
ized in 1885. Starin Hose Company No. 5, West New Brigliton, 
was recently organized. 

The officers of the department are as follows: Chief engineer, 
Elijah R. Vanderbilt; assistants, W. S. Sheehan, William 
James, Robert Brown, Jr., and Matthew Porter. 

The board of representatives is composed of two members 
from each company. The officers are: President, John L. Dob- 
son; vice-president, John S. Ward; secretary, Charles M. 
Schwalbe; treasurer, D. D. Simonson. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



MUTUAL ASSOCIATIONS. 



Staten Island Athletic Club. — Clifton Boat Club. — Staten Island Rowing Club. — 
Kill Von Kull Rowing Association. — Staten Island Cricket and Base Ball 
Club. — German Association. — Grand Army of the Republic. — Masonic So- 
cieties. — Odd Fellows Lodges. — Miscellaneous Organizations. 



THE idea of starting an athletic club on Staten Island was 
first thought of in 1877, by an old athlete named William 
Iken. He was joined by Messrs. Oliver T. Johnson, Robert T. 
P. Fiske, Fred and Frank Janssen, John W. Edwards and W- 
J. U. Roberts. These gentlemen soon took steps toward or- 
ganizing the " Staten Island Athletic Club," which was accom- 
plished in the latter part of that year. 

The ofiicers for 1878 were as follows: William K. Soutter, 
jiresident; D. J. H. Willcox, recording secretary; H. A. Ceesar, 
treasurer; R. T. P. Fiske, corresponding secretary; O. T. John- 
son, captain; C. Thorp, first lieutenant; D. H. Rowland, second 
lieutenant; John D. Vermeule, John W. Edwards, Louis Hen- 
derson, D. R. Norvell, Arthur T. Shand, F. L. Rodewald, 
trustees. 

Not until the fall of 1878, did the club hold its first success- 
ful games, open to all amateurs. A grand stand of planks and 
beams had been built for the occasion, and the never-tiring mem- 
bers, Johnson, Chute, Collins, Hayward, Wemple, Dedrechsen, 
Shand and Charles F. True could be seen with their hats, coats, 
vests, collars and cuffs all off, working like laborers, with the 
sun's rays pouring down upon them, stretching an old lighter's 
mainsail over the top of the so-called grand stand, to keep the 
fair sex from being burnt brown. But the games proved a suc- 
cess, and the club was greatly benefitted by them, while, during 
the winter months plan^ and arrangements were being made for 
the following year's work. 

The new boat house was started in 1880, and was finished far 
enough for habitation the following season, so the club moved 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 667 

what few boats, etc.. it had to its new quarters, and thus boat- 
ing was added to the already many attractions of this club. 
This fine house started a boom in the membership, as the roll 
soon ran up to two hundred and sixty, while a year before but 
sixty names were enrolled in all. The boat house is one of, if 
not the finest around New York, and the members are always 
delighted to show their friends and visitors around at any 
time. 

The club belongs to the " National Association of Amateur 
Athletes," the " Kill Von Kull Rowing Association," and some 
smaller associations. The roll stands now (1886) at two hun- 
dred and seventy, including eighteen life members. 

For several years past this club has been contemplating buy- 
ing some land where an athletic track, grand stands, club houses, 
etc., could be built, in keeping with its elegant boat house. 
This piece of land has now been obtained on Bement avenue 
(the same street the present grounds are now located on), and it 
is intended to make here the finest track and grounds in Amer- 
ica. The club also intends taking up tennis, base ball, foot 
ball and lacrosse, in addition to their now many sports, and the 
members will take part in all these games, while the club in- 
tends giving matches, tournaments and such like entertainments. 
The new grounds are four hundred and twenty by four hundred 
and fifty feet, and at present (in its rough state) the field has 
but one and one-fourth feet grade over its entire surface. The 
grounds cost $10,000 cash. 

The present officers are as follows: John W. Edwards, presi- 
dent; Henry O. Bailey, vice-president; William C. Davis, re- 
cording secretary; George M. Mackellar, treasurer; Edgar Hicks, 
corresponding secretary; William C. Rowland, captain; R. T. 
P. JFiske, first lieutenant; Anson L. Carroll, second lieutenant. 
The trustees are: Oliver J. Johnson, William A. Lentilhon, 
Frank G. Janssen, J. Eberhard Faber, W. F. Disosway, A. L. 
Faris, Harvey B. Rich. 

The "Clifton Boat Club" was organized in 1881, commencing 
with a membership of eight, which has steadily increased. The 
club house is charmingly situated at Clifton, and is a delightful 
place to visit during the boating season. The house is sixty- 
six feet deep by thirty-five feet wide, with a piazza twelve feet 
wide on two sides, facing the Narrows. This club was started 
as a social organization, and until last year, when a large crew 



668 •HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

was sent to compete in the Kill Von Kull regatta, had not taken 
part in rowing regattas open to other clubs. In September, 
I880, the Clil'tons held a fair for their benefit which cleared the 
handsome sum of one thousand three hundred and twenty- nine 
dollars and fifty cents, and this, together with good manage- 
ment, has placed the club in excellent financial condition. The 
present membership is seventy-five, and the value of the house 
and other property is about six thousand dollars. The club 
has purchased some new boats, and now owns one six-oared 
barge, one four-oared gig, one paired-oared gig, twelve singles, 
and two four- oared barges. The following comprised the officers 
for the year 1885 : I. K. Martin, president; W. Hodges, vice- 
president; Gregory McKean, secretary; S. Howard Martin, 
treasurer; George A. Post, captain; Arthur D. P. Wright, lieu- 
tenant. Board of trustees : N. Marsh, W. B. McKean, B. B. 
Hopkins, C. M. Dodge, C. Barton. 

The " Staten Island Rowing Club " was established at New 
Brighton, Staten Island, in the spring of 1878, with a member- 
ship of fifty and the following officers: A. P. Stokes, president; 
H. L. Horton, vice-president; E. Kelly, captain; G. B. West, 
secretary; G. S. McCuUoh, treasurer; C. D. Ingersoll, lieu- 
tenant. 

The club has not participated in any of the regattas or races 
with other clubs, but has confined itself to the quieter exercise 
of steady daily pulls. Every year the circuit of Staten Island 
(forty miles) is made four or five times, the quickest time for 
the distance (five hours and twenty minutes) having been made 
by the four-oared barge crew in 1884. In 1883 a day was set 
aside in each week for the instruction of ladies in rowing in the 
boats of the club, and a large number of ladies are now enrolled 
as members. 

The officers of the club in 1885 were: H. R. Kelly, president; 
A. B. Boardman, vice-president; W. Hodges, treasurer; J. E. 
Bonner, secretary; E. Flash, Jr., captain; B. Leaward, lieu- 
tenant. 

The "Kill Von Kull Rowing Association," which is now one 
of the best known organizations of oarsmen in the country, was 
organized in 1880. It comprises the following strong boat clubs: 
The Argonauta Rowing Association, Bayonne Rowing Associa- 
tion, and Viking Rowing Association, of Bayonne City; the 
Staten Island Athletic Club and Clifton Boat Club, of Staten 




r 


>- 


5 


z 


? 


d 


U 


"' 












^ 







£ 


ll, 







aj 


a 


"C 





z 


7 


c 


u 


* 


n 






Cl 


(/) 




u 





HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 669 

Island; the Alcyone Rowing Association and Arthur Kill Row- 
ing Association, of Elizabeth. 

At the first three annual regattas all these clubs but the Clif- 
ton, were represented, and in the last two regattas every club 
in the association contested one or more of the races. These re- 
gattas have always excited great interest among oarsmen, and 
the ofiicial record of the time made has invariably been accepted 
without question in boating circles throughout the country, a 
fact which speaks volumes us to the standing and management 
of the association. 

The regattas have usually been held upon the kills, but as 
this course is objectionable for many reasons, it was decided at 
the annual meeting of the association in 1885, to hold the re- 
gattas thereafter on the Newark bay course. 

The officers of the Kill Von KuU Association for 1886 were : 
"William C. Davis, of the Staten Island Athletic Club, president; 
Pierson Haviland, of the Argonauta Rowing Association, sec- 
retary and treasurer. 

Regatta committee : R. C. Annett, of the Argonautas; W. A. 
Lentilhon, of the Staten Island Athletic Club; Joseph Elsworth, 
of the Bayonnes; George A. Squire, of the Newark Bav Boat 
Club. 

The " Staten Island Cricket and Base Ball Club," which is 
the leading amateur cricket and base ball club of New York 
state, had its grounds for thirteen years near the present ferry 
landing of St. George, immediately on the bay, and one of the 
most pictui'esque locations imaginable 

In 1886, owing to the fact that the railroad company pur- 
chased the grounds hitherto used by it, the club purchased the 
Delafield property, at the foot of Bard avenue. New Brighton, 
for the sum of $40,000. 

The grounds can be reached within thirty minutes from the 
Battery, the nearest station being Livingston or Cricket station. 

The club has over five hundred members, and the meetings 
are held monthly during the summer months. The officers in 
1886 were : William Krebs, president ; George S. Scofield, Jr., 
vice-president; N. S. Walker, Jr., secretary; E. J. Shriver, 
treasurer, all of whom, with the following, comprised the board 
of directors: W. M. Donald, W. K. Jewett, I. A. Vyse, G. C. 
Allen, W. H. Davidge, James W. Pryor, D. R. Norvell, W. H. 



670 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Clark and E. H. Outerbridge. The club was incorporated in 
January, 1886. 

The principal games played by the members are cricket, base 
ball and lawn tennis. Most of the famous cricket matches 
which have taken place within the last few years in New York 
state have been arranged by this club. It has a Junior member- 
ship of one hundred. 

Starting in 1873 with only about thirty members, each year 
has added to its growth until to-day it has a membership of over 
live hundred, and is one of the largest, if not the largest club 
of its character in the United States. Having only a lease year 
by year of its former grounds, it was never able to erect a large 
club house. It has always been one of the social attractions of 
the island, and sets aside one day (Friday) in each week for 
the ladies, who have exclusive use of the grounds on that day. 
The Ladies' Club has a membership of over three hundred, being- 
known as the Ladies' Club for Out Door Sports. The cricket 
match played between the visiting team of gentlemen of England 
and the Staten Island Cricket Club, which took place on the 
grounds of the Staten Island club in September, 1885, was one 
of the most important events in the annals of cricket in this 
country. 

The "German Association Erheiterung" of Staten Island 
has for its object the social, dramatic and musical entertain- 
ment and instruction of its members, who are among the best 
elements of our German-American citizens. The association 
was organized December 10, 1861, and incorporated June 15, 
1865. The presidents have been in succession the following : 
John C. Cavelti, M. D., Charles A. Herpich, A. G. Methfessel, 
Albert Krohn, Charles H. Graef, Otto Lindemann and Charles 
A. Herpich. 

In addition to the German-American portion of its member- 
ship there are a few native born Americans in the club. The 
building at Stapleton, the seat of this club, formerly known as 
the " Lyceum," was in 1874 remodeled and rebuilt by this asso- 
ciation at an expense of about $40,000, and is now occupied as 
their club rooms. It contains the finest hall on the island. 
The club is in a flourishing condition, and has a membership of 
about one hundred and fifty. 

The "Robert G. Shaw Post, No. 112, G. A. R.,'' was named 
in honor of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, son of the late Francis 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 671 

G. Shaw, and brotherin-law of our distinguished citizen, George 
William Curtis. He was colonel of the Fifty-fourth Massachu- 
setts regiment (colored), and was killed while leading his men 
at the storming of Port Wagner. The expression of the rebel 
commander is now historic. It was : " Bury him with his nig- 
gers." In after years, his father was requested to signify his 
wish to have the remains found and sent to Staten Island, 
where, in the Moravian cemetery at New Dorp, there is a beau- 
tiful granite cenotaph sacred to his memory, and which Post 
Shaw decorates every year with garlands and other costly floral 
ornaments. The father replied: "He led a despised race to 
freedom; let him rest with his soldiers." 

The present post was organized in 1881, the first officers 
elected being the following : William Wermerskirch, C. ; Stew- 
art C. Allen, S. V. C. ; John R. Dodge, J. V. C. : Dr. H. C. 
King, S. ; Henry Holder, Q. M.; Henry Gardiner, Adj.; Henry 
Waugenstein, 0. D.; Thomas Mc Adams, O. G. ; Alfred S. Nor- 
man, Chaplain. 

The officers in 1886 were: H. M. Keyes, M.D., C. ; James Burke, 
S. V. C; Andrew Peatherston, J. V. C; Edward F. Vett, Adj.; 
John H. Eadie, Q. M.; Dr. Van Hoevenberg, S. ; Eugene Burke, 
Chaplain; Hermann Schultze, O. D.; James Caffrey, 0. G. ; John 
Herrel, S. M. ; James McCarthy, Q. M. S. 

There was a post named "Post Shaw" organized in 1868, but 
after two years' existence it disbanded. Its officers included 
the late Colonel D. Archie Pell, of General Burnside's staff, and 
other able and efficient veterans of the war. It was succeeded 
in 1871 by Thomas Prancis Meagher Post, No. 88. of which the 
first commander was Michael T. Burke, and the first adjutant 
James Burke. Rivalry of ambition caused the downfall of this 
post. It is hoped that the green-eyed monster will never find 
a dwelling place in the halls of " Post Robert G. Shaw." 

"Lenhart Post, No. 163, Department of New York, G. A. 
R.," was organized on the twenty-second of May, 1880, with 
the following charter members : William Tysen, Jacob Cougle, 
John J. Vaughn, Jr., William De Waters, D. S. Reckhow, Da- 
vid Newberry, Joseph Morey, H. R. Yetman, Andrew Abrams, 
Wesley Marshall, Nathan Reckhow, William Stewart, John 
W. Corson. David J. Johnson, John W. Gibbs and David C. 
Johnson. 

The first officers were: D. S. Reckhow, C; William De Waters, 



672 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

S. V. C. ; Jacob Cougle, J. V.C. ; David C. Johnson, O. D. ; Andre w 
Abraras, Q. M. ; William Stewart, Adjt.; David Newberry, O. 
Q. The commanders for the following years were : D. S. Reck- 
how, 1881-2-3; Charles Thrall, 1884; J. C. Heney, 1885, to the 
present time. 

The officers for 1886 were: J. C. Heney, C; W. Stewart, S. 
V. C; W. J. Slaughter, J. V. C; William De Waters, O. D.; 
B. H. Warford, S.; D. S. Reckhow, Q. M.; D. S. Johnson, 
Adjt.; Nathan Reckhow, C. ; Jacob Stein, O. G.; Jacob Cougle, 
Q. M. S.; Charles Thrall S. M. 

The post was named after Chaplain Lenhart, U. S. N., who 
went down with his vessel, the "Cumberland," in Hampton 
Roads, being, as we understand, the first Union chaplain that 
lost his life in the rebellion. At the time of his death he was a 
respected citizen of Tottenville. The post is small in numbers 
(having only at the present time thirty-nine members) but is 
large in charity. It meets on the first and third Tnesday eve- 
nings of each month, in G. A. R. hall, Main street, Tottenville. 

"Richmond Post, No. 524, Dept. New York, G. A. R.," 
was organized on the north shore of Staten Island, and was in- 
stituted November 22, 1884, at Johnson's hall, Port Richmond. 
The first officers were : Moses H. Leman, commander and aid- 
de-camp to commander-in-chief; Alfred G. Kinsey, S. V. C. ; 
John Bronley, J. V. C. ; Benjamin J. Bodine, O. D.; Garrett 
Van Pelt, 0. G. ; James Mullen, Adjt.; Samuel Decker, Q. M.; 
Bedell Jones, S. M. ; Richard Johnson, Q. M. S. ; Reverend Web- 
ster R. Maul, C; Edgar E. Coonley, M. D., surgeon; John 
Leonard and Abram Decker, sentinels. 

The oflacers for the year 1886 were the same as above, with 
the exception of the following : Bernard MuUer, J. V. C. ; Al 
fred Richards, O. G.; Charles H. Dickenson, S. M. ; Captain 
H. H, Burnett, Q. M. S. ; Thomas Marsh, outside sentinel. 

The rank and file of Richmond Post are composed of soldiers 
and sailors, who have an honorable discharge from the United 
States government for services rendered in upholding the ma- 
jesty of our laws and in vindicating the honor of our glorious 
tiag and perpetuating the Union of our fathers. All the com- 
rades have seen active service and smelt powder. Some have 
been inmates of Anderson and Libby prisons, and have suffered 
untold misery in those hells of inhumanity. The jjost is in a 






u w 




> 
< 



w 
< 

o 

w 
u 
2 

u 

Q 

uj 

X 



(J) 
u 

2 
>• 





HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 673 

prosperous condition, and numbers in its ranks some of Rich- 
mond county's most respected citizens. 

"Tompkins Lodge, F. & A. M.," was instituted in 1853. Ou 
the 6th day of December, 1853, the grand lodge of the state of 
New York located at " 600 Broadway " (there being two grand 
lodges at the time), issued a warrant to Isaac Lea, M., Jacob B. 
Wood, S. W., and James Harcourt. J. W., authorizing them 
to open a lodge at Stapleton, Richmond county. New York, to 
be known as Tompkins Lodge, No. 145. This warrant was signed 
by Mordecai Meyers, G. M., Nathaniel F. Waring, D. G. M., 
James Jenkins, S. G. W., Col. O. C. Denslow, J. G. W., and 
James Herring. G. S. 

The lodge was accordingly opened, and its meetings wei'e held 
in the Tompkins Lyceum (now known as the German Club 
rooms), on the Richmond road, corner of Prospect street. The 
first election of officers was held December 28, 1853, when the 
following were elected and appointed, and installed the same 
evening: Isaac Lea, M.; Jacob B. Wood, S. W.; James Har- 
court, J. W. ; John F. Raymond, secretary; George Chambers 
treasurer; G. Scott, S. D. ; George A. Weaver, J. D. 

In May, 1856, the lodge room was located on the upper tioor of 
Masonic hall, Arietta street, Tompkinsville, a short distance 
from the ferry landing, where it remained until the building 
was burned down (probably in 1857). The furniture, regalia 
and books of the lodge were all destroyed, and there is no evi- 
dence that the lodge ever met again under its warrant No. 145. 

On the 31st day of March, 1859, in response to a petition 
signed by Jacob B. Wood, Philip Bender, John McKee, S. 
Herzka, John Mousley, Philpot Wolfe, John S. Westervelt^ 
James Harcourt, Henry M. Weed, Thomas C. Burns, Charles S. 
Kuh, Ray Tompkins, M. Politzer, Aaron Vanderbilt and Rich- 
ard B. Locke, a second dispensation was granted to Tompkins 
Lodge by M. W. Brother John L. Lewis, who appointed Isaac 
Lea, M., Henry Crabtree, S. W., and Mark Cox, J. W., and 
authorized them to open the lodge in Southtield (now Middle- 
town), Richmond county. New York. 

The first communication under this dispensation was held on 
the evening of April 5, 1859, in the Tompkins Lyceum, wliere 
the lodge had first organized under the number 145. 

At the following session of the grand lodge, held in June of 
the same year, a wai'rant was issued to Tompkins Lodge, No. 471> 
43 



674 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

signed by John J. Lewis, G. M., John W. Simons, D. G. M., 
Finlay M. King, S. G. W., Clinton F. Page, J. G. VV., and 
James M. Austin, G. S. 

The lodge continued to meet in the Lyceum until February, 
1864, wlien rooms were secured in the Weed building, on the 
west side of Griffin street, Tomi^kinsville, a few doors south of 
the old Reformed Dutch church. 

In May, 1866, the lodge fitted up rooms in what was known 
as Egbert hall, on the east side of Griffin street, Tompkinsville, 
about five hundred feet south of the Weed building, where it 
continued to meet for ten years. 

During the winter of 1875-76 the lodge resolved to change its 
place of meeting from Tompkinsville to Stapletou, and at the 
expiration of tlie lease (May 1, 1876) vacated Egbert hall. A 
lease was taken of the upper floor of Tynan's building, then in 
course of erection, on the coi'ner of Bay and Dock streets, 
Stapletou. The floor thus secured was laid out suitable for 
lodge purposes, and the rooms were newly furnished. The 
lodge still continues to meet and is in a flourishing condition, 
the present membership being about one hundred. 

The successive masters of the lodge have been: Isaac Lea, 
1859-1867; Francis Hamilton, 1868: John L. Feeney, 1869; 
Henry Seguine, 1870; George F. Hallock, 1871; Isaac Lea, 1872; 
Sylvanus C. Hall, 1873-1874; Henry Seymour, 1875-1876; Syl- 
vanus C. Hall, 1877; Peter W. Silvey, 1878-1879; Charles 
Didler, 1880-1881; John Bale, 1882; William L. Ludlum, 1883; 
H. W. Jewell, 1884; S. R. Brick, 1885. 

The officers in 1886 were : Charles Didler, W. M. ; Robert 
McDowell, S. W.; Charles A. Harreus, J. W. ; J. E. Armstrong, 
treasurer; James A. Ware, secretary; Barnett Brisk, S. D.; 
Joseph H. White, J. D.; Oliver H. Griffin, S. M. C; Frank I. 
Rieff, J. M. C; R. G. Summers, organist; George L. Troutt, T. 

" Richmond Lodge, No. 66, F. & A. M," is the oldest, and 
numerically, the strongest in the county; and from this other 
lodges have eminated. Meetings are held on the flrst, third 
and flfth Monday nights of each month. The lodge was organ 
ized A. D. 1825. The first master and wardens were : Benjamin 
Wood, master; A. S. Lawrence, senior warden; J. S. Wester- 
velt, junior warden. Among its past masters, now deceased, 
we find the name of Hon. Henry B. Metcalfe, county judge, 
and at one time member of congress. The past masters of the 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 675 

lodge have been as follows : Edward Steers, Sr., 1857, 1859, 
1860, 1862; Lester A. Scofleld, 1864; Isaac A. Bunn, 1867-8-9; 
James Whitford, 1871; James Davis, 1872; Edward D. Clark, 
1873-4; David Muddell, 1875; R. Preston Brown, 1877-8; 
Thomas J. Batler, 1879; M. M. Brill, 1880; Thomas W. Butts, 
1881; John Pelcher, 1882; Reon Barnes, 1883-4; Frank K. 
Kohler, 1885. The officers for 1886 are : William C. Carpenter, 
master; George H. Tredwell, S. W. ; Lucius Johnson, J. W. ; 
James Seaton, treasurer; George F. Hallock, secretary; Reon 
Barnes, S. D. ; Albert F. Dunton, J. D.; E. H. Muddell, S. M. C; 
A. Applegate, J. M. C; William A. Devon, chaplain; T. R. 
Farrell, marshal; H. G. Shutzendorf, organist; William Foun- 
tain, tyler. 

" Klopstock Lodge, 'No. 760, F. & A. M," is the only German 
lodge of this order on the island. It was chartered September 
27, 1875, the charter members being F. B. Bardes, Aug. de 
Jonge, Charles J. Francke, August Horrmann, E. de Planque, 
John F. de Planque and Emil Zesch. It meets on the second 
and fourth Mondays of every month, at the building of the 
Staten Island Savings Bank, Stapleton. The present member- 
ship is thirty-eight. The presiding officers have been : Emil 
Zesch, August Horrmann and Herman Sterzing. The jaresent 
officers (1886) are the last named, master; W. M. Wermerskirch, 
and F. Bertuch, wardens; John Bardes, treasurer; Henry J. 
Llngg, secretary; H. Muller, C. Schabeiitz and A. Schwarzkopf, 
trustees; P. Kuhne, J. Kryszewski and H. Methfessel, financial 
committee; P. Kuhne, S. D.; Daniel Hess, J. D.; J. Kryszewski, 
S. M. of C; A. Schuster, J. M. of C; John Schiefer, organist; 
and George L. Trout t, tyler. 

"Beacon Light Lodge, No. 701, F. & A. M," meets at the 
Village hall, New Brighton, on the second and fourth Mon- 
days of every month. 

'• Aquehonga Lodge, No. 685, F. & A. M.," meets at Rich- 
mond on the second and fourth Tuesday evenings of every 
month. 

•'Neptune Lodge, No. 152, I. O. O. F.," meets on Thursday 
evenings at No. 219 and 221 Bay street, Stapleton. 

"John Jacob Astor, Sr., Lodge, No. 432, I. 0. 0. F.," meets 
at No. 7 Broad street, Stapleton, every Tuesday evening. It 
VFas first recognized in the order August 20, 1875. Ladies are 
admitted to the lodge as well as gentlemen. The present mem- 



676 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNXy. 

bersliip is fifty-two. The presiding officer at present is Joseph 
Schindler, and the next in power is Ludwig Meier. 

"Eichmond County Lodge, No. 88, I. O. O. F.," meets on 
AVednesday evenings in Odd Fellows hall, West New Brighton. 

"Salome Lodge, Daughters of Rebecca, No. 46, L O. O. F.," 
meets on the first Thursday of every month at No. 7 Broad 
street, Stapleton. It admits only the unmarried sisters and 
daughters of Odd Fellows. Its work is carried on in the Ger- 
man language. The district deputy grand master for Richmond 
county, is Reinhard Kaltenmeier. The lodge has fourteen 
members. 

The "German Ladies' Benevolent Society of Staten Island," 
has for its object the care of the distressed, sick and needy, and 
the assistance of those who wish to help themselves. It is sus- 
tained by payments of monthly dues by the membership, do- 
nations and various public festivals and entertainments. It 
meets on the last Tuesday of every month, in the German Club 
house. The president is Mrs. M. Herpich ; vice-president, Mrs. 
E. Scheiing ; treasurer, Mrs. S. Stake ; and secretary, Miss A. 
Garbe. 

The " Dutch American Citizens' Union," a political organi- 
zation, having for its object the election of good and capable 
men for public officers on Staten Island, without regard to party 
lines, was organized in October, 1878, and re-organized in Sep- 
tember, 1884. It meets at Credo's hotel on the first Wednes- 
day of every month, and has about one hundred members. Its 
president is Charles H. Graef ; vice-president, August Herr- 
mann ; secretaries, H. Kunemund and John F. dePlanque; and 
treasurer, Edward Meurer. 

The " Deutscher Fraunen, K. U. Verein," of Staten Island, 
was, until August .'5, 1877, a branch of the German society, un- 
der the name of " Louisen Zvveig, No. 2." At the date men- 
tioned they declared themselves independent under the present 
name. The object is set forth in the title. It is a mutual bene- 
fit association. Meetings are held on the first Sunday of every 
month at Zorn's Germania hall, Tompkinsville. The president, 
from the organization, has been Mrs. Julie Zorn. 

The "Staten Island Quartette Club" is one of the most 
prominent and respectable of the German associations of the 
island. It was founded in 1861. Its ambition is to emulate the 
excellence of the German Msennergesang and to stimulate its 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 677 

members to higher attainments in the musical art. The club 
meets at Hotel Credo, Stapleton, weekly, and has now about 
one hundred and fifty members. Mr. H. Sterzing has for many 
years been the musical director and the soul of the organiza- 
tion. 

The " Richmond County Lodge, No. 155, Harugari," was 
founded February 16, 1868. It is a benefit society and. meets 
semi-monthly at Stapleton. All business in the lodge is at all 
times done in the German language. The presiding oSicer is 
Philip Bruchheuser. 

" Der Freundsc hafts- Verein, No. 1," of Staten Island, also a 
benefit society, was founded. November 18, 1856. They own a 
burial plot in Woodlawn cemetery, worth one thousand dollars. 
The present membership is thirty-six, and the president Michael 
Koflfer. 

The " Staten Island Schutzen-Corps," a sporting club for the 
practice of marksmanship, was formed in May, 1872, by F. 
Bachmann, George Bechtel, C. Bryner, Julius Credo, Louis 
Gieser, A. Hageman, A. Hubner, Charles Meorlin, Charles 
Schafer, Jacob Schoen, F. Winsch and Philip Wolff. Their 
headquarters are at Credo's hotel, where monthly meetings are 
held, and their shooting ground is at Gebhardt's park, where a 
shooting festival is annually held. 

"Atlantic Lodge, No. 55," of the Order Germania, a mutual 
benefit society, was started March 20, 1880, by John Glaser, 
Carl Feist, Peter Otto, Aug. Tripke, Chr. Hetzel, Fr. Pankratz, 
Jak. Schweikert, R. Lemperle, R. Hartmann, A. Giegeich, 
John Litzenberger, Theo. Schiedemantel and Aug. Wolf. Its 
president is George Bettke. 

The "Staten Island Lodge, No. 18, Orden der Hermanns- 
sohne," was founded September 16, 1858, and has at present 
twenty members. Regular semi-monthly meetings are held at 
No. 7 Broad street, Stapleton. It is a mutual benefit associa- 
tion, and admits both men and women to membership. 

The " Staten Island Liederkranz," a singing societ.y, was or- 
ganized at JSew Brighton, in 1882. It meets weekly at Parabola 
hall. The society now has forty members, and is in a prosperous 
condition. Ernst Haas is the musical leader. 



CHAPTER XV. 



TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC. 



The Ferries. — Bridge Across the Sound. — The Staten Island Railroad. — The Shore 
Railroad. — North and South Shore Railroad.— The Richmond County Rail- 
road. — The Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad. — Lewis Henry Meyer. — 
Eckstein Norton. — Roderick W. Cameron. — John Frank Emmons. — Hany L. 
Horton. — Reon Barnes. — Orlando A. Wood. 

BEGINNING with the time when the first settler established 
himself upon the island, the necessity existed for some 
form of a ferry to facilitate commerce and travel between it 
and the neighboring settlements. At first, of course, boats 
were nsed as occasion required and means permitted, without 
any attempt at regularity of movement. When the first ferry, 
with some regard for regular appointment and accommodation 
was established, we are nnable to learn. The custom seemed 
to grow up into definite form so gradually and imperceptibly, 
nourished by the constantly pressing necessity, that it is no 
more easy to say when the ferry system began to exist than it 
is to say at what hour the contents of an egg begins to be a 
chicken. 

The first definite statement that we have been able to find, 
with regard to the existence of a ferry between Staten Island 
and New York, is to the effect that such a ferry was established 
in 1755. Whether any other had been in operation previous to 
that or not Ave are not informed, but the language of the fol- 
lowing advertisement, which appeared in the " Nem York Post 
Boy,''^ of November 10, 1755, leaves room for the suspicion that 
such a ferry had been in operation : 

" Publick Notice is hereby given to all, Gentlemen Travellers 
and others. That Martin Ducket has rented the noted Ferry 
House on Staten Island, lately kept by John Watson, where 
he intends to keep the best Entertainment for Man and Horse, 
with three good Boats constantly attending said Ferry to and 
from New York and Statten Island, in company with Scotch 



(7 



HISTORY OF KIOHMOND COUNTY. 679 

Johnny of said City, Tavern-Keeper ; as also a oommodious 
Stable, vvitli all kinds of Provinder, for Horses, &c., near the 
White Hall Slip, where all Gentlemen Travellers may be as- 
sured of the best Entertainment for themselves and Horses; 
vFith the most careful and expeditious Passages across the Bay, 
or to Long- Island (if requir'd), by applying to said Scotch 
Johnny, near the White-hall Ferry stairs, or said Ducket on 
Staten Island aforesaid : And in Case a Boat show'd be wanted 
on any Emergency, there shall be one in Readiness, on Notice 
given to either of the Persons above mentioned." 

The ''New York Gazette,'''' of December 13, 1756, has this 
item : 

"Capt. Ducket, Keeper of one of the Ferries from Staten- 
Island to this Place, was found dead in one of his Passage 
Boats, on Monday Evening last, soon after he had assisted one 
of his Boats to go from the Wharf with Passengers. Verdict 
from the Jury, Apoplexy." 

The following extract from the ''Neio York Gazette'^ of March 
15, 1756, touches the subject of the early ferries : 

"Thursday last about 12 o'Clock, happen'd a very melan- 
choly Accident in our Bay, when one of the Ferry Boats from 
Staten-Island, being coming over, in a pretty high Wind, with 
13 Men and 3 Horses on board, a rough Sea, near Oyster-Island, 
overwhelmed the Boat, and she sank down directly: by which 
Means 11 of the Men and the three Horses were drowned : As 
it happened to be just on the Edge of the Flats, about three 
Feet of the Boat's Mast continued above Water after she sank, 
to which several of the Men clung for a considerable Time : 
And upon its being discovered from this City, two other Boats 
immediately put off, who, tho' upwards of four Miles distant 
happily reached them Time enough to save two of the Men, the 
rest being quite spent with cold and wet, could not hold out; 
and those saved were almost ready to drop like- 
wise : Persons saved were Capt. Williams, de- 
signed a Battoe-Man, and one of his Men : Those drowned were 
Thomas Harrison, Israel Rose, Daniel Fling, and James Jones, 
designed Battoemen under Capt. Williams; Mr. Thomas Alston 

of Raway; Moore of Piscattaway; Denyse Van 

Tyle. the Boatman; William Smallpierce, a Soldier belonging 
to Shirley's Regiment; and three Gentlemen Strangers." 

The same paper a week later has the following : 



680 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

" Monday Morning last was taken up on the Jersey Shore, 
and brought into the White Hall Slip, the Ferry-Boat in which 
the melancholy Accident happened the Thursday before in our 
Bay. Daniel Fling, one of the Battoe-Men drowned, was found 
in the Boat, and soon after buried; and the Saddle-Bags that 
were still in the Fore-Castle, discovered that the three Strangers 
mentioned in our last to be likewise drowned, were, William 
Lawrence, of Raway; and John and William Miller, of Sotaii- 
ket, on Long- Island." 

Besides the local demand for a ferry to New York the island 
at an early period became a part of a popular route of travel 
between New York and Philadelphia. This route was by way 
of Amboy. The first notice of it that we have seen appeared 
in 1753, of which the following is a copy : 

" A commodious stage-boat will attend at the City Hall slip, 
near the Half Moon battery, to receive goods and jiassengers, 
on Saturdays and Wednesdays, and on Mondays and Thurs- 
days will set out for Perth Amboy Ferry; there a stage wagon 
will receive them and set out on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 
morning, and carry them to Cranberry, and then the same day, 
with fresh horses to Burlington, where a stage-boat receives 
them, and immediately set out for Philadelphia." 

The stage-boats of those days were the periauguas, or piro- 
gues of the present; they were vessels without keels, heavj' lee- 
boards, two masts and two large sails; the improvement con- 
sisted in substituting these boats for the small sloops used be- 
fore. When wind and weather permitted, the " outside pass- 
age" was made — that is, through the Narrows and around the 
eastern side of Staten Island; at other times they passed 
through the kills and sound. But the passage by water all the 
way was perilous and tedious, and it was soon found that an 
imp)rovement could be effected by bringing in a stage route 
across Staten Island as part of the journey. The establishment 
of this is seen in the following announcement, which appeared 
in a newsj)aper of January 31, 1757 : 

"Whereas the Subscriber hath been instrumental of propa- 
gating a Stage between Philadelphia and New York, and by 
Experience, finding some Difficulty some Times to pass bj^ 
Water from Amboy Ferry to New York; Notice is hereby 
given, That a Stage- Waggon is erected, to proceed from Mr. 
Isaac Dote's, opposite to Perth- Amboy, on Monday the 17th 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 681 

Instant, January, and to pass through Staten Island, Load or 
no Load, to Mr. John Watson's, Mrs. Ducket's, and Mr. Van- 
tile's, and on Tuesday proceed back to the aforesaid Dole's, and 
so in like Manner every Day in the Week; when due Attendance 
will be given, and Passengers meet with the best of Usage by me. 

"Joseph Richards. 

" N. B. — To hinder any Disputes or Resentments that may 
arise hereafter, I have thought fit to inform the Publick of my 
Price and Custom; Each Passenger to pay Three Shillings, be 
fore they proceed on their Journey, and in Proportion for other 
Things, (except Letters, which are to be carried gratis.) Hope- 
ing therefore that all Well-wishers of such an Undertaking 
will give me the Encouragement it deserves, I remain 

"Their very humble Servant, J. Richards." 

In another advertisement of this Joseph Richards he states 
that his charge of three shillings is the same whether passen- 
gers take the stage or leave it at either Watson's, Simonson'sor 
Yantile's ferries. This is in July, 1757, when Ducket's seems 
to be occupied by Simonson. Richards also jjledges himself to 
make good any damage caused by failing to take passengers 
through as he promises. He adds that he lives near the middle 
of the island, " at the sign of the stage-waggon and horses." 
In 1761 he was still running the stage, and in a newspaper letter 
at that time we have his statement that his was the only " Stage- 
Waggon " on the island. The ferry on the west end of the route 
was then called Billoji's ferry. 

Destruction of life and property seems to have been of quite 
frequent occurrence in the history of the early ferries. We 
can here notice but a few of the most notable events of this 
kind. The account given below is from a New York paper of 
August 18, 1763. 

" We have just received the melancholy News that last Night 
in the sudden Squal, which came up about Sun Set, Mr. Wat- 
son's Ferry Boat, going to Staten Island, was over-set at a Place 
called Robin's Reef, about two Miles from the Shore, and im- 
mediately sunk, so every Person on Board was drowned, ex- 
cept the Ferry Man, who, with much Difficulty swam a-shore. 
The Names of the Persons we have heard of, who lost their 
Lives by this melancholy Event, are Mr. Robert Kennedy, a 
Scotch Gentleman. Mr. Chapman, and Mr. Anderson, of Phila- 
delphia, M. De Loge, of Surinam, and his Negro Boy, Mr. 



682 HISTORY OF RICiniOJJ^D COUNTT. 

David Gainmel, Mrs. Henderton of this City, and Mrs. Rey- 
nolds, Wife of Capt. Reynold's, now at Sea." 

The perils of the passage from the '-Blazing Star" (meaning 
the sign of a comet), being four or five miles from the ferry at 
Staten Island, may be illustrated by the fact that the Baron 
De Kalb, when he was a colonel in January, 1768, was the only 
one of nine persons crossing in the scow, who was not so frozen 
as to lose life or limb; some losing toes, others feet, fingers, etc.; 
the scow sunk on a sand island, leaving them out all night. He 
alone would not go to the fire when rescued, but put his feet 
and legs in cold icy water, took some refreshments, went to bed, 
and got up unhurt. A Mr. George died before they were re- 
lieved. 

Another route to Philadeli^hia was that which crossed from 
New York to Paulus hook (Jersey City), where stages started, 
running down to Bergen Point, where they were taken across 
on large scows to the " Dutch Church," now Port Richmond, 
whence they took the road to Blazing Star, near Rossville, where 
they were again transported by scows across the sound, and pur- 
sued thence their journey to Philadelphia. Improved accom- 
modations and quicker time were demanded by the traveling 
public of those days as well as at the present time, and the am- 
bition of those who served that public strove to answer that de- 
mand, as will be seen by the following announcement. John 
Mersereau then lived at the new Blazing Star. 

" This is to give Notice to the Pnblick, That the Stage- Wag- 
gons kept by John Burrowhill in Elm-Street in Philadelphia, 
and John Mersereax at the New Blazing Star, near New- York, 
intend to perform the journey from Philadelphia to New York 
in two days also — to continue seven Months, viz: From the 14th 
of April to the 14th of Nov. and the remaining five Months of 
the Year in three Days — The Waggons to be kept in good 
order, and good Horses, with sober Drivers. They piirpose to 
set off from Philadelphia and Powlas-Hook on Mondays and 
Thursdays punctually at Sunrise, and be at Prince-Town the 
same Nights, and change Passengers, and return to New- York 
and Philadelphia the following days; the Passengers are de- 
sired to cross Powlas-Hook Feriy the Evening before; the 
Waggon is not to stay after Sunrise ; Price each Passenger 
from Powlas-Hook to Prince-Town, Ten shillings, from thence 
to Philadelphia, Ten shillings also; Ferriage fee. Three Pence 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 683 

each Mile any Distance between. Any Gentlemen or Ladies 
that wants to go to Philadelphia can go in the stage and be at 
home in five Days and be two Nights and one Day in Phila- 
delphia to do business, or see the Market Days. AH Gentle- 
men, and Ladies who are pleased to favour us with their cns- 
tom, may depend on due Attendance and civil Usage by those 
Humble Servants 
" Jnne23, 1776. 

" John Mersereak, 
"John Bakrowhill." 

The following notices of ferries and stages on the island 
during the time of the revolution will throw more light on the 
subject than a summary of their contents could, hence we in- 
sert them in full : 

" Staten-Island, May 30, 1777. 

" Next Tuesday being the third day of June instant, a Stage 
will set off from the place known by the name of Doyle's 
Ferry, rear the Watering Place, or Staten-Island, now kept by 
Cajit. William Leake, and will proceed to John Stillwell's 
Ferry, on the west side of the Island opposite Amboy, and con- 
tinue the same every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and 
carry passengers at Eight Shillings each; and goods as low as 
possible. The best usage will be given, and great care taken of 
every thing sent by the said waggon. The waggon will set off 
in the morning as soon as passengers arrive, agreeable to the 
tide." 

The following is from a paper of P'ebruary 15, 1779 : 
"To be sold, the noted and very commodious Ferry known 
by the name of Ryerson's ferry, at the east end of Staten- 
Island, and at the entrance of the Kills, it is a pleasant situa- 
tion, and commands a great deal of business; there is one hun- 
dred acres of good land, and two orchards, a dwelling house 
with 5 rooms on the first floor, and 4 rooms on the second story; 
a garret, a cellar kitchen and cellar, a well at the door, two new 
wharfs which form an exceeding fine harbor for ferry and other 
boats." 

"Staten Island, Jan. 12, 1779. 

" Complaint having been made, that an exorbitant price is 
exacted by the different proprietors of the Ferry Boats, for the 
fare of the passengers between this and New-York. It is 



684 HISTORV OF RICHMOND COUNTS. 

Brigadier General Leslie's orders that the boats shall ply at the 
following prices, viz. 

" Two Shillings currency for each passenger. 
(Sic) Do Six Do. for each Horse. 

"A Boat to go off with six or more passengers, and on com- 
plaint being made of noncompliance with the above regula- 
tions, the offender shall forfeit the liberty of plying with his 
boat to or from this island. 

"A. Leslie, Brig. Gen." 

The following fragments have been gleaned from various 
sources: 

Frederick Simonson owned a ferry at the Narrows in 1777, 
and for several years previous to that date. It was probably 
used to cross to Long Island. No stated ferry has been main- 
tained there since tlje lirst few years of the present century. 

A ferry was established across the Kill Von KuU from Staten 
Island to Bergen Point in 1764. It was at the present site of 
Port Richmond. In 1777 it was known as Decker's ferry; after- 
ward it was called Ryers', and still later Mersereau's. 

In 1774 the New Blazing Star ferry was occupied by Reuben 
Fitzrandolph. In the following year it was occupied by John 
Mersereau. It was occupied by Francis B. Fitch in 1827. 

In 1761 James Johnston ran a ferry at Staten Island. 

In 1763 Adoniah Schuyler, of Elizabethtown Point owned a 
ferry to Staten Island, together with the road or causeway from 
the sound to the uplands on the island. Schuyler died during 
the year mentioned. The ferry was spoken of by a writer about 
1770 as " a wretched, half-rotten ferry." 

The Amboy ferry, sometimes called Doty's and sometimes 
Billop's, was kept by Isaac Butler for forty years, beginning 
immediately after the revolution and extending to the time of 
his death, about 1828. 

The ferry at the Narrows was known at different times as 
Watson's, Ducket's, Darby Doyle's, Cole's and Van Duzer's. It 
was known as Cole's ferry in 1777. In 1775 it was owned by 
Darby Doyle, the plant including barn, storehouse, barracks, 
dock, garden and twenty acres of land. 

There were two ferries plying between the northeast part of 
the island and New York from the middle of the last century. 
November 10, 1755, the ferry was "continued to be kept by 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 685 

Oths Van Tyle at Statten Island and Abraham Bockee at 
Whitehall," they having three boats for the purpose. 

The first steam ferry boat running here was the " Nautilus." 
She began running November 29, 1817. The following an- 
nouncement was made in the newspapers on that day: 

"The new Steam-Boat, intended to ply regularly between 
this city and Statten-Island, commenced running this morning. 
She is to start daily from White-Hall Dock, at the hours of 7, 
10, 1, and 5. We understand that she carries Passengers this 
day without charge." 

Ten years later two steamboats were in operation on the 
ferries here, during a part of the year at least. They were the 
"Nautilus," Captain Robert Hazard, and the "Bolivar," 
Captain Oliver Vanderbilt. They advertised to leave Staten 
Island at 7, 8 and 10 A. M., and 12.30, 2.30,4.30 and 6 ?. M. 
Returning they left New York at 8 and 10 A. M., and 12.30, 
2.30, 4.30, 5.30 and 7 P. M. The fare then was 12^ cents. During 
the winter season trips were not made so often and the fare 
was 25 cents. The " Marco Bozzaris " was theii a new steam- 
boat, and she plied between the city and the quarantine 
grounds every two hours. 

One after another during the following yeai's improvements 
were made, and facilities for comfortable, rapid and frequent 
passage between the island and the city augmented as the de- 
mand seemed to increase. In 1860 the steamers " Thomas 
Hunt" and "Flora" were making six trips daily, on the 
North Shore ferry, the fare being six cents. Boats on the 
East Shore ferry were making trips every hour during the day, 
from 7 A. M. to 5 P. M. The Huguenot line was running be- 
tween Mariners' Harbor and New York four times a day, the 
boats employed being the "Red Jacket" and the " Kill Von 
Kull." About that time the " Westfield," " Clifton," " Thos. 
P. Way," " Southfield," "Hunchback," "Josephine"" and 
"Sylph" were also employed on these ferry lines. Some of 
them were sold to the government in 1861, to be used as trans- 
ports in the war. 

The management of the ferry to New York from Castleton 
and Northfield had been unsatisfactory to the people — faie too 
high, boats old and slow, number of daily trips insufficient, of- 
ficers and employees rude and unaccommodating. The North 
Shore Staten Island Perry Company was formed in the spring 



686 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

of 1860, and obtained a charter as a stock company. The jjeo- 
ple from New Brighton to Mariners' Harbor took stock in the 
new company, and manifested a lively interest in its success. 
Large and enthusiastic meetings were held, thirty thousand 
dollars were subscribed, the steamboats "'Flora" and "Thomas 
Hunt" were purchased, and the " People's Line " was placed 
in successful operation, with the fare at six cents. The capital 
stock was subsequently increased to sixty thousand dollars, the 
number of owners holding shares being something over three 
hundred. The steamer "Pomona" was built for the route and was 
at the time the pride of the company. On the organization of the 
new company the old management reduced its fare from twelve 
cents to three cents, but the new company was the child of the 
people, and received their support. In 1864 the capital stock 
was raised to one hundred thousand dollars. 

Within a few years past the project of building a bridge across 
the sound or Arthur kill has been frequently and vigorously 
agitated. It has been argued that such a bridge was desirable 
to afford some trunk line railroad from the south and west an 
outlet to tide water in the vicinity of New York city. A bill 
authorizing the construction of such a bridge has repeatedly 
been before Congress, and it is said that it has the approval of 
the war department. The senate reached a vote on May 20, 
1886, and passed the bill by a large majority, notwithstanding 
the state of New Jersey and the Pennsylvania railroad were 
strongly opposed to it. 

This bridge project is no new scheme. As long ago as June 
10, 1812, the state of New York, by its act of legislature, incor- 
porated a company for the object of building a bridge across 
the sound from New Jersey to Staten Island, at some point to 
be decided on by commissioners appointed for the purpose. 
The act named Joseph Perine, David Mersereau, Jacob Croch- 
eron, John V. D. Jacobson, Jesse Oakley, James Guion, Sr., 
Tunis Egbert, John Garrison and John Hilliker. The capital 
stock was to consist of two thousand shares of fifty dollars 
each, and the commissioners appointed to designate tlie site of 
the bridge were John C. Yanderveer, William B^urman and 
John Lefferts, of the county of Kings, and Gabriel Furman and 
John Yanderbilt, Jr., of the city and county of New York, who 
were to act with an equal number to be named and authoi-ized 
for the [)urpose by or on the part of New Jersey. The bridge 



aiSTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 687 

was to be not less than twenty-six feet wide, and toliavea draw 
of not less than thirty feet over the sound to allow the passage 
of vessels. The toll for the passage of two horse pleasiu-e car- 
riages over the bridge was seventy-five cents, business wagons 
fifty cents, man on horseback twenty-five cents, and foot pas- 
sengers six cents. 

TheStaten Island Railroad, extending from Vanderbilt's land- 
ing to Tottenville, is thirteen miles in length, and its original 
cost was about $300,000. The first meeting of citizens to discuss 
the practicability of constructing the road, was held in the 
village of Richmond, on the 2d day of August, 1851, at which 
articles of association were submitted, discussed and adopted, 
and filed in the office of the secretary of state, on the 18th daj^ 
of October, 1851. On that day an election was held for the first 
board of directors, and resulted in the election of the following 
gentlemen, viz.: Joseph H. Seguine, Joel Wolfe, Edwin R. 
Bennet, Stephen Seguine, Henry Cole, Henry I. Seaman, Henry 
Van Hovenberg, Peter C. Cortelyou, John G. Seguine, William 
Totten, George White, William King, and Cornelius White. 

Joseph H. Seguine was elected president, Stephen Seguine, 
treasurer, and George White, secretary. The first annual re- 
port was made to the state engineer and surveyor on the 30tli 
day of September, 1852. Numerous obstacles presented them- 
selves to prevent the speedy completion of the road, not the 
least of which was the difficnlty of securing a right of way over 
the lands of several landed proprietors, and in January, 1855, 
it became necessary for the company to apply to the legislature 
for an extension of time to construct their road. The first re- 
ceipts from passengers were on the 32d day of April, 1860, 
the trains running only a part of the way, but on the 2d day of 
June, of that year, the formal opening of the road took place. 
The road became the property of the Staten Island Rapid 
Transit Railroad Company, July 31, 1884, and its destinies 
since that time have been in common with those of the latter 
company. 

A line of telegraph was erected from quarantine grounds 
along the shore to the railroad, and then along the railroad to 
Amboy in 1863. 

A horse railroad from the Narrows around the shore to 
Mariners' Harbor was proposed in November, 1863, and it was 
then expected to be running by the early part of the following 



688 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

spring. A company was formed and a charter obtained, under 
the title of the Staten Island Shore Railroad Company, with a 
capital of §350,000. The following were the first directors 
chosen : Minthorne Tompkins, S. B. Coles, Henry A. Morrison, 
George Catlin, Thomas Colgan, John C. Burling, Cornelius Mc- 
Ardell, Alfred Hornby, Joseph G. Ward, Earl K. Cooley, 
John Ellard, P. H. Ward, and George Sexton. The iirsc offi- 
cers were Joseph G. Ward, president; George Catlin, vice- 
president; C. McArdell, secretary and treasurer. While it was 
in process of construction (March, 1864) various opinions 
were expressed concerning it, as to whether it would prove a 
benefit or an injury. But few living immediately on the line 
were disposed to favor it, but those residing off the street 
through which it was laid generally advocated it. Its general 
patronage by the people shows it to be a thing of approved 
imblic utility. It makes hourly trips. Its western terminus lias 
not as yet been carried over the causeway to Port Richmond. 

The "'North and South Shore Railroad" was projected to 
run from Elm Park, in the town of Northfield, to Seguiue's 
point, in the town of Westfield. The company was organized 
in 1882, with W. R. Soutter as president and R. Penn Smith 
and others as directors. The route was surveyed under the 
direction of the company, and ground was broken at Elm Park 
on Tuesday, November 28, 1882. 

The plan of this road was to run from a point near the steam- 
boat landing at Elm Park to Graniteville; thence through the 
lands of James Bennett, John Hall, Charles E. Racy, John M. 
Perine, Nicholas D. Egbert, Abram P. Tyson, Samuel White, 
Isaac Winant, estate of C. Merrill, James Davidson, Mrs 

Thomas Lisk, Quinlan, Charles Simonson, John Blake, 

Decker B. Merrill and Jacob Honsman, at Bull's Head, where a 
depot was to be located; thence passing on through lands of 
the heirs of Joseph Simonson, deceased, John Blake, John 
Hatfield, Mrs. Hiram J. Corson, John H. Garretson, Hiram 
J. Corson and Arthur Prall, it reached Springville, where 
another station was to be located. Its course thence 
lay through lands of Harriet Whitney, Jacob Simonson, 
David Simonson, Mrs. Daniel Blake, Matthias Simonson, Sam 
uel Decker, Barnet Depuy, Peter Van Buskirk, Richard La- 
tourette and the heirs of Harriet Wheatley, at Richmond. 
Here the course of the road described a horseshoe, approaching 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 689 

the village from under the hill on which the old fort stood, and 
turning at a point about ten minutes' walk from the court house. 
On this bend it was intended to locate a depot, and thence a 
street was to be opened to the village. From this point the 
road lay in the direction of Green ridge, through the lands of 
Cyrus McVeigh, Douglass Turner, James Lake, Herbert B. 
Brewer, H. S. Samuels, Mary Metcalfe, Byron H. Beal, the 
heirs of T. C. Benham, Lawrence H. Cortelyou, George White, 

Mrs. Edward Bancker, and heirs of Stuyvesant, where it 

crossed the Staten Island Railroad, and took a direct line for 
the shore, passing through the lands of John Dempsey, B. 
Kreischer and Henry T. Niles to the farm owned bj^ the com- 
pany, where a large hotel was intended to be built and other 
improvements applied for making a seaside resort. 

Work upon it continued till late in the summer of 1883, when 
the grading of the road bed was nearly completed, and ties 
were purchased and on their way to the island. There seemed 
to be some mystery connected with the building of the road. 
Added to this the rumor gained circulation that the Standard 
Oil Company intended to erect buildings at the terminus on the 
Perkins farm. The work was then abandoned. 

The " Richmond County Railroad" is a street railroad, run- 
ning from West New Brighton steamboat landing to Castleton 
Corners. Its charter was granted by the state legislature in 
March, 1885, and work upon it began May 11 following. The 
road was completed, and the formal opening took place Julj'^ 
18, 1885. The route lies from the steamboat landing up Broad- 
way, Castleton avenue, Columbia street and Manor road, end- 
ing at Eckstein's brewery. The first directors \yere John Mc- 
Donald, Monroe Eckstein, Hiram Dixon, Robert Moore, Clar- 
ence Delalield, H. D. Leslie and E. A. Moore. The first officers 
were: Hiram Dixon, president, Monroe Eckstein, treasurer, and 
H. D. Leslie, secretary. 

The scheme of concentrating the ferry trafiic into one line of 
boats running to one point on the island, that point being the 
one nearest to New York city, and connecting with arms of 
railroad which should reach out and deliver passengers along 
either shore, was for some time in process of development be- 
fore it assumed definite shape and tangible existence. A com- 
pany was organized in 1883, and incorporated under the general 
railroad law of the state, having a capital of five hundred thou- 

44 



690 HISTORY or RICHMOND COUNTY. 

sand dollars, which was fnlly paid. Surveys were then made 
for the prospective line along the eastern and northern shores 
of the island. Captain A. L. King was for a time president of 
the company, but in Setember, 1883, he resigned, and J. Frank 
Emmons was elected to the position. Messrs. C. T. Barrett, 
Horatio Judah and T. C. Vermilye were appointed commission- 
ers to appraise the damages caused to land through which the 
road was to pass. They began their work in the latter part of 
September. 

The work of grading began, and during the spring of 1884 
was pushed forward with such energy that by the end of July 
the road was graded and the track laid between Clifton and 
Tompkinsville. The first locomotive and train passed over this 
section of the road on July 31, 1884. It contained the man- 
agers and officers of the road, a few invited guests and several 
passengers who had come up on the train as it came on its regu- 
lar time from Tottenville. With the caution necessary to a 
train for the first time moving over a new road, the run was 
made from Vanderbilt landing to the Tompkinsville landing in 
three and a half minutes. 

The Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad Company now 
efl'ected a ninety-nine years" lease of the property of the Staten 
Island Railway, and under this arrangement the railroad to 
Tottenville and all its appurtenances became, on the day last 
mentioned (July 31, 1884), a part of the rapid transit system. 

Work was now pushed on with vigor toward the comjjletion 
of the road, many obstacles, some of discouraging magnitude, 
appearing to impede its progress. Over much of its course the 
line followed the shore, under the bluifs, where ground had to 
be made upon which to build the road. State laws were not 
able to grant the right to run a railroad through the property 
of the United States; hence the grounds of the light house de- 
partment just above Tompkinsville, presented a serious barrier. 
The company, however, secured an act of congress permitting 
them to push a tunnel through the hill a short distance back 
from the shore. The grant was surrounded with restrictions 
tliat made slow progress in the construction of the tunnel an 
unavoidable sequence. The tunnel is about five hundred and 
eighty-five feet long, and is wide enough to allow the passing of 
two trains at once. It is protected by massive walls of masonry 
on tlie sides, and an arch of brick two feet in thickness over- 




KOX HILL, Il<iil-l i_i L 11 _.;l , 

Clifton. N. Y. 




A view frora Fox HUJ 







o 

h 
< 

O 

o 
cc 

o 
z 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 691 

head. The cost of building it was about one hundred and 
ninety thousand dollars. 

Another obstacle which offered resistance to the progress of 
the road was a contest in litigation, in which the company were 
involved, in gaining a passage across the cove at the mouth of 
Palmer's run. Another obstacle was found in passing across the 
front of the Sailors" Snug Harbor, where it was necessary to 
erect a heavy stone wall at a cost of about twenty-five thousand 
dollars. But the projectors of the enterprise were encouraged 
by seeing these obstacles, one after another, give way before the 
steady and resolute forces which they brought to bear upon 
them. 

At St. George, the northeast point of the island, an area of 
several acres of ground has been made out from the shore to 
afford room for terminal facilities. Piers have been erected, 
extending some six hundred feet into the water, and terminat- 
ing in two large ferry slips. The expense of the improvements 
at this point, including piers, ferry houses, depots, and the 
like, is estimated to exceed $100,000. 

The history of this enterprise would not be fairlj' stated if 
the fact were omitted that Mr. Erastus Wiman has been, from 
its inception to its consummation, the moving spirit of the 
rapid transit railroad and ferry scheme. Without consulting 
that gentleman, we make the statement here that the future of 
the island owes a lasting debt of gratitude to him for the i:)er- 
severing energy with which he has pushed forward an under- 
taking which promises to open a new era of prosperity to the 
island, against many discouraging circumstances, perhaps not 
the least of which has been the prejudice with which those who 
were to be benefitted bj^ the scheme opposed it. Should the 
modesty of Mr. Wiman censure us for this expression, our 
apology is that the truth demands it. 

The Rapid Transit Railroad was opened for passenger traffic 
February 23, 1886. It was a jubilee day along the north 
shore. Trains ran as far as Elm Park, making the time be- 
tween that point and the city thirty-nine minutes, instead of 
about an hour and a half, as had been common under the old 
ferry system. The usual demonstrations of public rejoicing were 
made in the display of the national colors all along the line, 
and the cheering of the multitudes who gathered at the sta- 
tions to greet the coming of the trains. The other wing of the 



692 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

system was completed, so that on the eighth of March trains 
commenced running on both the north and east sliores of the 
island from the ferry at St. George. 

A few statements, showing the magnitude of this improve- 
ment, are compiled from a city newspaper of the following 
day. When the rapid transit scheme was first agitated, the 
ferries made only twelve trips a day between New York and 
Staten Island. The number of trips made is now increased to 
thirty-four. A decided improvement in the time required was 
also apparent. Port Richmond had before been one hour dis- 
tant from the city, with only hourly boats. To-day it can be 
reached in thirty-six minutes, and boats run three times in an 
hour. The time to Clifton had previously been forty-seven 
minutes. It was now reduced to thirty minutes, with trains 
every twenty-five minutes. 

Lewis Henry Meyer, who has been for more than thirty 
years a resident of Staten Island and who is widely known in 
business and social circles both on the island and in New York 
city, was born in October, '181. 5, at Bremen. He was the son of 
Theodore Meyer, a prominent ship owner of New York, who at 
the time of his son's birth was engaged in the operation of a 
line of packets between that city and Bremen. At the age of 
five months Mr. Meyer came to America on a ship under com- 
mand of Captain, afterward Commodore Perry, then in his 
father's employ. The passage was accomplished in the extra- 
ordinary short period of one hundred and seven days, twenty - 
one days shorter than any previous voyage, a fact which the 
owner at the time attribiited to reckless sailing. 

Mr. Meyer attended school in Ne\V York city till 1828, when 
he again crossed the ocean,remainirig in Bremen till 1836. While 
there he finished his student life and spent some time in an of- 
fice in that city. In 1840 he engaged in business in New York, 
remaining in it till 1857-8, under the firm names of Meyer,Hupe- 
den & Co., Theodore Meyer, Sons & Co., Meyer, Schoene & Co., 
and Meyer & Stucken. 

Having between 1850 and 1857 sold large amounts of Ameri- 
can securities in European markets many of which failed to 
pay interest, Mr. Meyer turned his attention in 1858 to the pro- 
tection of European friends. Besides bringing numerous suits 
against repudiating cities and counties and compelling the 
same to respect their creditors, he succeeded in placing several 







--■f'tvAH.nitchxe 





n 


X 


h 


u 


IX 


cc 


o 


a 


z 


? 


X 


7 


w 






m 


o 


H 
I 



w 


[il 




X 


n 


'A 




( > 


a. 


h 




I 








HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 693 

railroads in the liands of receivers and reorganizing them after 
foreclosure. This he did with the Milwaukee & Mississip[)i, 
later Milwaukee & Prairie DuChien now owned by the Milwau- 
kee & St. Paul, the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad, 
now Pittsburgh & Ft. Wayne Railway Company, and the Chi- 
cago & Missisippi, now Chicago & Alton. 

He also rej^resented large interests in the Ohio Central, Scioto 
& Hocking Valley, Alabama & Tennessee River, Atlantic & 
Great Western, Kansas Pacific, Mississippi, Kansas & Texas, 
Steubenville & Indiana, New Orleans & Mobile, and others, most 
of which he. was also instrumental in foreclosing and reorgani- 
zing. He is now president of the Ft. Wayne Railway Com- 
pany. 

Mr. Meyer was the organizer of the Staten Island Savings 
Bank and was for ten years its president. He takes a lively in- 
terest in all Richmond county matters and was formerly presi- 
dent of the village of Edgewater. His residence, of which this 
volume furnishes a cut, is one of the handsomest on Staten Is- 
land. 

Mr. Meyer is a public spirited and courteous gentleman. His 
immense business interests and frequent travels have brought 
him a large acquaintance both in Europe and America, and he 
is equally respected both at home and abroad. 

Eckstein Norton, one of tbe most influential and success- 
ful men identified with the vast railroad interests of the country, 
is the son of William Norton. He was born at Russellville, 
Kentucky, December 16, 1831, and educated in his native 
place. At the age of fifteen he entered a store as clerk, receiv- 
ing a dollar and a half per week for his services, and continued 
for two and a half years thus employed, when he embarked in 
business in tlie same town. In the fall of 1851, having sold his 
interest to a partner, he removed to Paducah, Kentucky, and 
joined his brother, W. F. Norton, who had been for fifteen 
years a merchant at this point, in mercantile ventures. In 1852 
Mr. Norton purchased the interest of his brother, and continued 
with success until 1854, when the Illinois Central Railroad hav- 
ing completed its line to Cairo, began the construction of a line 
to Chicago, which was finished a year later. Having effected 
an advantageous contract with this road, Mr. Norton removed 
to Cairo as the receiving and forwarding agent for all its freight. 
An excellent offer for the business and good will thus well es- 



694 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

tablished indnced him to sell, and again he made Paducah his 
residence, engaging with his brother in the banking business, 
under the firm name of Worton Brothers. Early in 1864 he re- 
moved to New York, established the banking and commission 
house of Norton, Slaughter & Co., and later that of Ex. Nor- 
ton & Co., of which he is sole partner. In 1868 Mr. Norton 
purchased the Paducah & Gulf Railroad, afterward consoli- 
dated with the Mississippi River Railroad, the two forming the 
Paducah & Memphis Railroad, of which he became president. 
He also participated actively in the construction of the Eliza- 
bethtown & Paducah Railroad, these two roads (Paducaii & 
Memphis and Elizabeth town & Paducah) now forming the 
Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern Railroad. 

In 1884 it was discovered that a large amount of the funds of 
the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company had been lost in 
speculation and mismanagement and a considerable floating 
debt created. The credit of the company was impaired, and 
grave doubts entertained as to the possibility of Its rescue from 
bankruptcy. A large majority of the stock was held in Europe, 
and the foreign stockholders, on discovering the irregularities 
in 1884, sent an agent to the United States to reorganize the 
company. Many of the directors resigned, the board was re- 
organized, and Mr. Norton asked to become one of its members. 
He remained a director until the annual meeting in October, 
1884, was then elected vice-president, and assumed charge of 
the company's finances. Less expensive offices in New York 
city were secured, and an economical management of affairs in- 
augurated, thus saving forty thousand dollars per annum in 
the New York office. As a result, confidence was restored, and 
the credit of the company greatly improved, the beneficial re- 
sult being apparent on the whole system. In 1886 Mr. Norton 
was elected president of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, 
which, b}'^ lease and ownership, controls nearly four thousand 
miles of road running through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, 
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Gfeorgia and Florida, and is 
one of the most important of the great railroad systems of the 
country. The remarkable business qualities which Mr. Norton 
possesses, embracing sound and unerring judgment, keen in- 
sight, and a firm and comprehensive grasp of the details of an 
enterprise, have all been brought to bear in his management of 
this railroad, and x^laced it again on a solid financial basis. 





RESIDENCE OF R. W. CAMERON. 
Clifton. Slalen Island. 



V^-^HT^ft, --. %\\V.=.'VV^';, N, 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 695 

Since Mr. Norton's removal to Staten Island, in 1867, he has 
identified himself with its leading interests. He is a director 
in the Staten Island Savings Bank and the Staten Island First 
National Bank, and was one of the first incorporators and a di- 
rector in the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad. His inter- 
est in the canse of education is evinced in the aid he extended 
to the Brighton Heights Seminary for Yonng Ladies and the 
St. Austin's School for Boys, of both of which organizations he 
is president. Mr. Norton is married to Lucy M., daughter of 
Mrs. Mary Peyton Moore, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. 

Sir Roderick William Cameron was born at Glen-Nevis, 
Canada, on the 25th of July, 1825, and was educated at the district 
schools of Cornwall and Kingston, and under the late Dr. John 
Rae as private tutor. His youth having been passed in Canada, 
he came to New York in 1852 with the intention of taking 
passage for Australia. Wiser counsels prevailed and he was 
induced to invest his small capital in the charter of the ship 
" Revenue," which, under the guidance of his broker, the late 
John Ogden, was dispatched in June, 1852, as the pioneer of 
the line tliat has existed since that date. The business of this 
line has now grown to large proportions, the tonnage employed 
in the direct trade between New York and the Australasian 
colonies during the past year being not less than one hundred 
and thirty thousand capacity, carrying American productions 
solely, of several millions in value. Mr. Cameron represented 
the colony of New South Wales as commissioner at the cen- 
tennial exhibition of 1876, also acted as honorary commissioner 
at tjie Paris exposition in 1878, and passed a year in Australia 
representing the Dominion of Canada at the e.xhibitions of 
Melbourne and Sydney in 1880 and 1881. On his return he 
prepared a report on the trade relations between the continents 
of Australia and America, which was published as an appendix 
to the report of the minister of agriculture in 1881, and largely 
quoted from by the press of Canada and by those interested 
in the subject of which it treats. 

For his valuable services in promoting trade relations be- 
tween Canada and the Australasian colonies, the honor of 
knighthood was in 1883, conferred upon him by her majesty 
Queen Victoria. 

The subject of this biographical sketch is an enthusiastic 
sportsman, and in his efforts to improve the thoroughbred 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

horse has accomplished more than any other breeder of the 
period. He in 1861 became the purchaser of Clifton-Berley, 
snbseqnently the home of the imported stallions Leamington, 
Warminster, Glen Athol, Hartington, etc., while such famous 
thoroughbreds as Glenelg, Reform, Inverary and others were 
bred there during the period of the renowned Clifton stud. 
The property consists of about three hundred acres nnder the 
highest cultivation, surpassing in the beauty of its park like 
scenery anything to be found on the island. From the mansion on 
the central hill, built of stone, brick and wood, in the Queen Anne 
style of architecture, with ample halls and stately rooms, down 
the slopes of the shrubberied lawn, across the rich meadows and 
broad fields to the sea, the prospect is wide and beautiful be- 
yond descriiition. Surely art has here vied with nature in her 
rich contributions to this charming spot. 

Sir Roderick is not the first of his family upon whom the 
honor of knighthood has been conferred. One of his maternal 
ancestors. Sir Roderick Macloud, was knighted in the early 
part of the seventeenth century, and known as " Sir Rory 
More of that Ilk in Skye." The family were settled in Lochaber 
and Skye from time immemorial, and a family tree examined 
by the editor traces the genealogy from 1342, and recalls an 
ancestry of which any family may be proud. Malcolm, son 
of Taromade, was granted a charter by King David second, in 
the year 1342 of part of Gleuelg (see record called the Black 
Book, folio 2, register office, Edinburgh). 

The progenitor of the branch of the Cameron family to which 
Sir Roderick belongs was Donald Cameron, of Glen-Nevis, who, 
according to tradition, secured the lands of Morsheirlich from 
Lochiel. The first of whom there is authentic record is Alex- 
ander Cameron, born at Glenmoriston, Inverness-shire, in 1729, 
who emigrated to the colony of New York before 1776, and 
ultimately settled in the Dominion of Canada. He married 
Margaret Macdonell, of Glengarry, about 1760, and had chil- 
dren, Duncan and one daughter. Duncan Cameron, born in 
1764, was one of the founders in the last century of the North- 
west Fur Trading Company, afterward merged into the Hudson 
Bay Company, a member of parliament and an influential citizen. 
He married Margaret, daughter of Captain William Macleod, 
and had three sons, Duncan, Alexander Duncan and Roderick 
William, the subject of this biography. The latter married in 




PORTLEDGE. KESIDENCE OF J. F. EMMONS. 

Chiton. N. Y. 



v%-\"i-tvt^ V, %\t%^^V<J'^, >^ 



HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTY. 097 

1860, Anne Fleming, daughter of Nathan Leavenworth, of 
Pnritan descent, and Alice Johnstone, daughter of a Scottish 
gentleman. Mrs. Cameron died July 2, 1879. Their children 
are : Duncan Ewen, Roderick Macleod, Alice Leavenworth 
(deceased), Margaret Selina Erne, Catherine Nathalie, Anne 
Fleming and Isabella Dorothea, all but Alice having been 
born at Clifton. Duncan Ewen and Roderick Macleod enjoy 
the great privilege of American citizenship. May they be the 
progenitors of future generations as loyal to the great republic 
as were their forefathers to the land of their birth. 

John Frank Emmons, well known in Richmond county as 
ju'esident of the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad Com- 
pany, and one of the most active and energetic business 
men on the island, was born in Boston, April 26, 1839. His 
father, Mr. John L. Emmons, a prominent Boston merchant, 
married Miss Catharine Draper Vose, and of their four chil- 
dren, Frank, as he is commonly known, is the eldest. He re- 
ceived his education at the private school conducted by Mr. 
Adams, which he left at the age. of sixteen to enter the store of 
his father. Here by his industry as a clerk he won for himself 
a partnership in the firm of J. L. Emmons & Co., which for 
many years carried on an extensive business in the wholesale 
grocery line. Drawn by the life and business prominence of 
the metropolis, Mr. Emmons in 1866 gave up his interest in 
that tirm and removed to New York city, where he secured a 
partnership in the firm of George E. Cook & Co., dealers in 
miscellaneous securities. In 1878 he severed his connection 
with the house just mentioned and accepted the membership in 
the banking firm of H. L. Horton & Co. which he still retains. 

Mr. Emmons is characterized by quickness and decision. In 
the " Stock Exchange," of which he is a member, and in finan- 
cial circles generally, his advice and judgment are widely 
sought and accepted. His connection with the Rapid Transit 
Railroad Company and his constant and daily presence in the 
most exciting and busiest hnancial center of the world tend 
constantly toward bringing him into notice and give him an 
intimate acquaintance with all that is of value in modern finan- 
ciering. 

Since his removal to Staten Island in 1866 he has interested 
himself in the introduction and maintenance of the present 
water supply and in the building and improvement of the 



698 HISTORY OF KICIIMOND COUNTY. 

schools and educational institutions of the island. He was also 
prominent in the establishment of the recently organized "First 
National Bank of Staten Island." Mr. Emmons built the first 
sewer for drainage purposes in the village of New Brighton, 
and soon after the organization of the board of health of that 
village was chosen a member, acting as its president till 1886, 
when he removed to Clifton. In June of the same year in 
which he came to Staten Island, he married Miss Mary Win- 
throp Cook. 

Mr. Emmons is among the foremost in social life both in 
New York city and on Staten Island. He is a member of the 
Union League Club and many of the social clubs of Richmond 
county. Though he has interested himself in politics he has 
never held jpolitical office and he owes no allegiance to any 
party, though he leans toward republicanism. During pur- 
tions of 1863-64 Mr. Emmons served as lieutenant of "Company 
E, Forty-fifth Massachusetts Infantry," then under command 
of General Foster in North Carolina. He still retains his in- 
terest in military affairs and is a member of the " Loyal 
Legion." His residence on Staten Island has contributed in 
many ways to its prosperity, and his connection with the 
procuring of i-apid transit for Richmond county has earned 
him a place in its history. 

Harry L. Horton, formerly president of the village of 'New 
Brighton, and for many years one of Staten Island's most ag- 
gressive citizens, was born in Bradford county, Penn., July 17, 
1832. His youth gave promise of more than average business 
capacity, and at the age of 17 he left his father's farm to en- 
gage as clei'k in a mercantile concern at Towanda, in his native 
state. Here, by faithfulness to their interests, he won the con- 
fidence of his employers, and developed many of the sterling 
qualities which have rendered his subsequent business career a 
success. 

At the age of 22 Mr. Horton left Towanda for Milwaukee, 
where he engaged in the produce commission business on his 
own account. For nine years he continued to conduct it, but 
at the end of that time, in 1865, various interests dictating the 
step, he concluded to leave the West for New York. Immedi- 
ately after his arrival in the metropolis he connected himself 
with its stock and other exchanges, and has since conducted 
one of the most successful banking and broking establishments 




-^■^iyAfl.RilchM 




HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 699 

in the city. He is at present the senior member of the firm of 
H. L. Horton & Company, No. 56 Broadway, one of the few 
houses which have lionorably weathered the financial storms of 
the last twenty years. 

Soon after engaging in business in New York, Mr. Horton 
took up his residence at New Brighton, where he is now in pos- 
session of a handsome property. He early became impressed 
with the thought that Sfaten Island had a brilliant future be- 
fore it, an idea which recent events have in a remarkable man- 
ner confirmed. In accordance with this view he has prom- 
inently connected himself with every aggressive work in Rich- 
mond county, and is especially entitled to credit for his energy 
in promoting the interests of the Staten Island Water Supply 
and the Rapid Transit Companies. 

Mr. Horton has been twice married and has two children. 
Cordial in his social life, useful as a citizen, of sound judgment 
as a business man, his friendship, influence and advice are widely 
sought and, if deserved, are freely given. He has and is con- 
stantly making for himself a host of warm and valuable friends, 
to whose esteem he is in the highest degree entitled and will 
long retain. 

Reon Barnes. — One of the most noticeable men in Rich- 
mond county and one whose foresight and energy have, per- 
haps, done more for its development than any other, is Mr. 
Reon Barnes. During fifteen years he has been a resident of 
Staten Island, and his face has become a familiar one to the 
majority of its inhabitants. Like most of our prominent Ameri- 
can business men he owes his success entirely to his own genius, 
industry, perseverance and pluck. His childhood was spent in 
New England, and the qualities which he acquired there, to- 
gether with native ambition and bold maneuvering, have slowly 
but surely led him to the front. 

The family from which Mr. Barnes is descended was origin- 
ally English. Its first members in America were three brothers, 
professional men, who came to Sag Harbor, Long Island, in 
1652. A branch of their descendants found their way up the 
Connecticut river to Middletown, where Duane Barnes, father 
of Reon, was born, and where he married Miss Cynthia Turner. 
Eleven children were the result of this union, of which the sub- 
ject of this sketch was the sixth. 

He was born at Middletown December 9, 1845, and during 



700 IIISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

his youth attended the public school at that place. He also 
spent much of his time about the publishing establishment then 
conducted by his father, leaving it in his fifteenth year for 
New York city. Since that time his life has been a busy one 
and has been attended by a variety of fortune in which he 
has gained a vast amount of practical experience. After a few 
years spent in gaining a foothold in the business world, during 
which he traveled in various interests through every state and 
territory in the Union, he embarked in the general contract 
business which he still continues. 

The numerous and extensive operations which Mr. Barnes has 
carried on have made him a well known man in business and 
financial circles, not only in New York city but throughout the 
whole country. Among his works are many of the piers and 
bulkheads at Constable's hook, the South Penn Railroad, and 
the Wheeling & Harrisburg Railway of West Virginia. He pro- 
cured the local, state and government franchises for the bridge 
over the Ohio, at Wheeling, now in course of construction, and 
is at present engaged in the erection of extensive stock yards 
at St. Louis, to be opened in connection with the Belt Line 
Railroad of that city. He also has under way a project for 
illuminating the streets and buildings on the north and south 
shores of Staten Island with incandescent electric lights, which 
it is hoped will be in operation by the time this book is pub- 
lished. 

In 1876, four years after his removal to Staten Island, Mr. 
Barnes procured the sale of the Garner ferry to Mr. Starin, and 
thus secured for Richmond county its first comfortable means of 
commtinication with New York city, which, together with re- 
cent developments in rapid transit, have been of so much benefit 
to its people. He has since secured a large amount of real 
estate on the island consisting mostly of water front. 

In person Mr. Barnes is tall and portly, with features well 
defined, indicating the thorough man of affairs. The large ex- 
pei'ience he has enjoyed enables him to arrive at conclusions 
rapidly, and these are seldom found to be at fault. Few per- 
sons who approach him fail to notice his rare conversational 
al)ility or to be struck by the facility with which he decides on 
the practicability Or impossibility of the projects submitted to 
his judgment. He is also possessed of a most retentive memory. 
Persons come constantly to his office with schemes, the scenes 






cr-zr-C, 




HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 701 

of which are located in all parts of the country and even of the 
world, and he decides on them immediately, calling upon his 
past reading or experience for a knowledge of the locality in 
which they are situated. 

Mr. Barnes' genial nature, the great advantage he has derived 
from intimacy with the most enterprising men of the times, and 
the constant liberality he displays in all worthy causes have 
made him a power in the social life of the community, especially 
among the younger people. 

Orlando A. Wood, who is ol Scotch ancestry, was born Jan- 
uary 30, 1803, in Tolland county. Conn. After a period of early 
youth spent in study he, at the age of nineteen, removed to Sa- 
vannah, Ga., and engaged in the ehip chandlery and grocery 
business. He found a congenial field in the South and re- 
mained until 1852, when, determining to retire from commercial 
life, he disposed of his interest, returned to the north and located 
on Staten Island, where he purchased a desirable site with at- 
tractive surroundings, rebuilt the residence and has since led 
the life of a retired gentlemen. In 1834 he abandoned business 
sufficiently long to make an extended European tour. Mr. 
Wood is, in his political preferences, a conservative and votes for 
men of character and ability iriespective of party. Independent 
in thought and action, he is not bound to any platform or party. 
He served as alderman of the city of Savannah and also partici- 
pated in the Seminole war. Mr. Wood espouses the faith of 
the Protestant Episcopal church and is a vestryman of St. 
Luke's church of Rossville. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



INDUSTRIES. 



Agriculture.— Shipbuilding.— The Oyster Interests.— John Scott.— Silas N. Havens. 
— Edward Lowrey Woodruff.— Barrett, Nephews & Co.— The New York Dye- 
ing and Printing Eestal>lishnient. — The Breweries. — George Beehtel. — Jlonroe 
Eckstein. — B. Kreischer & Sons. — Jewett White Lead Company. — Silk Jlill. 
—John Irving.— Linoleum Works. — Paper Mill. — Plaster Mill.— Dental Sup- 
plies. — Other Industries. 

DURING the first century and a half which followed the 
settlement of the island the leadino- pursuit of its inhab. 
itants was agriculture. The fisheries about the shores assumed 
a rank of considerable importance. Shipbuilding grew to be 
worthy of some note, and manufacturing then came in for its 
share of attention. Since the introduction of steam ferryboats 
the latter industry has greatly increased. The manufacture of 
various earthen products, beer and dyeing processes are largely 
carried on. 

The latest agricultural census shows the following figures: 
the annual product was 773 bushels buckwheat; 46,433 bushels 
Indian corn; 17,358 bushels oats; 2,420 bushels rye; 2,906 bushels 
wheat; $5,219 value of orchard products; 6,391 tons of hay; 29,662 
bushels Irish potatoes; 2,725 bushels sweet potatoes; 272 pounds 
wool; 186,439 gallons milk; 54,088 pounds butter; and 1,000 
pounds cheese. There were on farms 751 horses; 26 mules ; 54 
working oxen; 901 milch cows; 541 other cattle; 49 sheep and 
923 swine. 

There wa? once considerable activity in shipbuilding. In the 
early .^ears of the settlement there were but few ship carpenters 
here. Small vessels were in constant demand, but facilities 
were not at hand for constructing them. Such work was done 
at tiie city. But during the last century the practice of build- 
ing on the shores of the island grew. Oak and chestnut were 
plentiful and workmen could live here cheaper than in the city. 
"We have little data upon which to found any statement as to 



IIISTOUY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 703 

the extent to wliicli the industry prevailed. A newspaper of 
June ], IllT), contains an item to the effect that a sliip of 240 
tons burthen had just been launched from the yard of Mr. 
Richard Lawrence. The ship was named "Patty," was built 
for Messrs. Buchanan, and was to be commanded by Capt. 
Alexander Marquis. 

During the present century something has been done. A few 
vessels were built before 1861; but timber is now scarce and 
dear, and building is nearly gone. There are three yards on 
the northern part of the island, all of which are kept alive by 
repair work. At one of them, in Stapleton, a large marine rail- 
way was constructed in 1880 for future use. On the southern 
end of the island, at Tottenville, there are eight ship-yards, 
each of which does repairing and some building. There are 
eight marine I'ailways in these yards, all worked l)y h<)r.se-power, 
which take out from four to five hundred small vessels yearly for 
painting, caulking, and repairing. This beinga fishing locality, 
with the coal depots of New Jersey near, the work is largely 
from smacks, tugs, coal barges and oyster boats. The new 
work is chiefly in the way of steam tugs and propeller yachts. 

Mr. James M. Rutan, who carries on the shipbuilding busi- 
ness at Tottenville, represents a family that has long been 
identified with this industry. rlis grandfather, Henry Rutan, 
came from France in 1770, and afterward settled in Belleville, 
N. J. Thence his son, H. S. Rutan, father of James, moved to 
Staten Island in 1809, and engaged in shipbuilding for the Se- 
guine family. In 1820 he removed to Ro,ssville, and there en- 
gaged in the same business. He died in August, 1833, since 
which time the bu.siness has been carried on Ijy his .son, James 
M. Rutan, now located at Tottenville. 

Another branch of business is that pursued by the Coast 
Wrecking Company. This company has a yard and a wharf 
on the northeast shore of the island, and engages in the spe- 
cialty of saving vessels that are wrecked on the coast, or have 
Ijeen sunk b}' collision, or otherwise, in and around New York 
harbor. It owns two steamers and two schooners, and employs 
from sixty to one hundred and ten men. An idea of the nature 
of its work may be gained from the report of its operations in 
the census year, 1880. Tlie company's submarine divers exam- 
ined the bottoms of five ships, pumped out four shiixs, and 
stripped the hulls or saved the cargoes of twelve large vessels 



704 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

that had been driven ashore. It raised one steamer, one schooner 
and one bark, which had sunk in the harbor, and rescued the 
following stranded property: two schooners, three tugs, one 
ship, six barks, and thi-ee steamers. For doing this work the 
company received from ten to fifty per cent, of the value of 
property saved, but even then it is said its work was conducted 
at a loss. 

The extent of the shipbuilding in this county for the census 
year is shown in the following figures : tlaere were thirteen new 
vessels built; their total tonnage was one thousand five hun- 
dred and eighty-two ; their value one hundred thousand 
dollars ; twelve boats built were valued at one thousand four 
hundred dollars ; the value of repairing done amounted to 
eighty -seven thousand four hundred dollars ; making an aggre- 
gate of one hundred and eighty-eight thousand eight hundred 
dollars as the gross product of the industry in this county for 
that year. During the two years following the industry was 
reported to be quite brisk at Tottenville and Rossville. 

Among the prominent men engaged in shipbuilding on the 
island maybe mentioned; Jacob Ellis and Son, A. C. Brown, 
and Messrs. Conklin, at Tottenville ; William A. H. Nichols, 
at Rossville ; Lewis H. St. John & Co., and William Lissen- 
den, at Elm Park ; David J. Jones and James Fisher, at Port 
Richmond ; and Thomas and John J. Lawler, at Clifton. 

The Staten Island Dry Dock Storage and Improvement Com- 
pany was incorporated April 18, 1885, for the purpose of dock- 
ing, loading and unloading, raising, building and repairing 
vessels, storing cargoes, and carrying on the general business 
of a dry-dock and warehoxise company, and its operations were 
to be carried on Jointly in Richmond and Kings counties. The 
trustees of the incorporation were : Chauncey Stillman, Warren 
Beman, Josiah L. Chapin, George Leeds and Montgomery 
Queen. The capital stock of the company was limited to two 
million dollars, and the term of its proposed existence was fifty 
years. 

Among the riches of a new country enumerated to the old 
world by discoverers, the products of the sea always have held 
a prominent place. The fishes of these waters attracted the at- 
tention of the earliest voyagers in a marked degree, and the 
mollusks (a part of them, in popular estimation) were not neg- 
lected. The explorers and colonists were saved any trouble 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 705 

in the matter of discovering tliese beds, for the Indians were in 
the habit of gathering clams and oysters at all practicable sea- 
sons, and depended upon them lai'gely for their food. 

In 1621 " very large oisters " were too common atNieuw Am- 
sterdam to find a market, everybody being able to supply them- 
selves without charge. A few years later (1671) Arnoldus Mon- 
tanus speaks of "oysters, some a foot long, containing pearls, 
but few of a brown color," as one of the common advantages of 
the young settlement. Sir George Carteret, as one of the in- 
ducements, in advertising the region about the mouth of the 
Raritan, where be wished to establish colonies, tells intending 
emigrants that "the bay [i.e., of New York] and Hudson's 
river are plentifully stored with sturgeon, great bass, and other 
scale-fish, eels, and shellfish, as oysters, etc., in great plenty, 
and easy to take." This was in 1681. Three or four years 
later letters were written home to England, in which such ex- 
pressions as the following occur 

"And at Amboy point and several other places there is 
abundance of brave oysters." 

" Oysters, I think, would serve all England." 

" We have one thing more particular to us, which the others 
want also, which is vast oyster-banks, which is the constant 
fresh victuals, during the winter, to English, as well as Indians; 
of these there are many all along our coasts, from the sea as 
high as against New York, whence they come to fetch them." 

"Oyster shells upon the point, to make lime withal, which 
will wonderfully accommodate us in building good houses [of 
stone] cheap, warm for winter, and cool for summer." 

" We have store of clams, esteemed much better than 
oysters; on festivals the Indians feast with them; there are 
shallops [scallops] but in no great plenty." 

In the neighborhood of Staten Island the circumstances 
were especially favorable, and there were numerous beds. 
The northern shore is rocky and unfit for oyster growth for 
a considerable distance, but the southern and western sides 
are eminently favorable. Everywhere in these swift tide-ways 
oysters grew abundantly. South of the island there is a 
broad expanse of shallow water separating the island from the 
Jersey shore of Monmouth connty. into which the Raritan pours 
a heavy flood of fresh water. To the Staten Islanders and New 
Yorkers this part of the bay is known as Staten Island sound, 

45 



706 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

and the oysters grown in it receive the market name of 
" sounds." Jerseymen more often speak of it as Raritan bay, 
and sell the oysters they raise on their shore as " Amboys" and 
"Keyports." 

With reference to oyster matters, history is mute during the 
close of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, except that chance allusions here and there show that 
large numbers of persons, nearly everybody, in fact, took ad- 
vantage of this natural storehouse of food to supplement their 
luxuries in summer, and victual their cellars for winter. It is 
also evident that the fame of Carteret's "great plenty and easy 
to take," had spread abroad, and so many aliens sailed into the 
placid bay to rake upon the "vast banks," that at last the col- 
onists became alarmed for the continuance of their precious 
supply. Thus it arose that as early as 1715 was passed the first 
colonial law in relation to oysters, prohibiting under a penalty 
of twenty shillings any person, except native free Indians, from 
taking oysters between the 1st day of May and the 1st day of 
September of each year, during a term of five years. A simi- 
lar law was enacted by New Jersey in 1719. 

In 1730 New York again found need to make a second law in 
respect to shellfish, and in 1737 a third, owing to the too great 
demand made upon the beds around Staten Island by crews of 
boats from New England, New Jersey, and elsewhere, special 
protective legislation for these waters was obtained from the 
colonial legislature. The preamble of this act of 1737 states 
the necessity for the law, "since it has been found by daily ex- 
perience that the Oyster Beds lying at and near Richmond 
County, within this Colony, are wasted and Destroyed by 
Strangers; the preventing of which will tend to the great Ben- 
efit of the poor People and others inhabiting the aforesaid Col- 
ony." The act therefore forbids any one " directly or indi- 
rectly, to rake * * * any oysters within this Colony, and 
put them on board any Canoe, Periauger, Flat, Scow, Boat or 
other vessel whatsoever, not wholly belonging to, and owned by, 
Persons who live within the aforesaid Colony," under penalty 
of having the craft and all its contents seized. This law is 
almost an exact reproduction of the New Jersey statute of 1719. 
It then names ten citizens of Richmond county, many of whose 
names still figure in the oyster business of Staten Island, as a 



HISTORY OF EICIIMOXD COUNTY. 707 

police to carry out the law, and empowers them for that pur- 
pose. 

Both states made their laws somewhat in a spirit of mischief 
and retaliation, for Jerseymen then, as ever since, came in con- 
tact with Staten Island planters, often to the extent of mutual 
belligerencj\ 

In spite of this protection, however, all the natural beds 
gradually gave out, and it was long ago found necessary to sup- 
plement them by artificial means. The precise date when oyster- 
planting began here it has been difficult to fix. As to native 
oysters, at Staten Island, they were certainly cultivated in 
Prince's bay at least sixty years ago. In some localities, on the 
opposite shore, the industry is probably older, since a suit was 
brought about seventy-five years ago, in old Shrewsbury town- 
ship. New Jersey, originating in the question whether or not a 
man had exclusive right to the oysters he had planted. 

The use of these waters for planting occasioned an immedi- 
ate effect upon the villages of the neighboring coast, which was 
very striking. "In fact,*' remarks a contemporary chronicler, 
"the ]irosperity and rapid increase of the poi:)ulation of that 
island [Staten] is owing, in a considerable degree, to the oyster- 
trade of this city. Before Prince's bay was laid out in oysfer- 
plantations there were very few persons living on it, and it was 
almost wholly uncultivated. * * * A few years after the 
first beds were planted an extent of coast of from five to ten 
miles was covered with oysters taken from the ' rocks ' of Vir- 
ginia. The number of men employed upon the beds in 1853, 
and who lived upon the island, with their families, was com- 
puted at three thousand." 

To encourage this new productive industry, which had thus 
suddenly come into existence, New York and New Jersey both 
enacted laws calculated to protect the planters. They have been 
the object of much change and amendment, as experience 
ripened the judgment and new circumstances arose. 

At present the laws of New York applying to this subject 
and locality are as follows: 
General statutes: 

Forbidding any natural bed being staked off for private use, 
or being planted upon; forbidding any person, not for six 
months previous a resident of the state, from taking any shell- 
fish within the state (but an actual resident may employ any 



708 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

non-resident); and prohibiting the use of any dredge weighing 
over thirty pounds, or operated by steam-power. 
Special statutes: 

Asserting that no person not an inhabitant of the state may 
plant oysters in the waters surrounding Staten Island, "except 
the consent of the owner first be obtained;" and no non-in- 
habitant may take oysters or clams "from their beds of natural 
growth in any of said waters." 

Forbidding dredging or dragging for oysters in the neighbor- 
hood of Staten Island " upon beds of natural growth of oysters 
(not planted)." 

Forbidding any person taking up or disturbing oysters jalanted 
under all the waters of this state surrounding Staten Island, 
without previous permission from the owners. 

New Jersey's laws, applying here, are substantially similar: 

No summer raking or sale of oysters allowed on public 
ground. 

No dredging in any shape allowed. 

No oysters to be gathered to be made into lime, or to be used 
in iron manufacture. 

No pei^son not a resident of the state for six months previous 
may gather oysters or clams in state waters for himself or for 
his employer. 

Any owners or licensed persons may plant oysters or clams 
upon any flats or coves (not natural beds) and one chain beyond 
the same, along the shores of Newark bay and Staten Island 
sound, under prescribed conditions of staking out, etc. A 
penalty is fixed for taking oysters without authority from such 
inclosures. 

Prohibits taking " from any natural oyster banks or beds in 
this state any old shells other than such as cannot be removed 
or separated from the oysters without injuring the same; and 
all such shells shall be culled and thrown back again upon the 
said natural banks or beds ;" but this does not apply to pri- 
vate beds. 

These laws grew up one by one, and at first were Tuisunder- 
stood and willfully disregarded on all sides. Between New 
York and New Jersey, in the persons of the Staten Islanders 
and Jerseymen, there were constant quarrels, and even open 
wftr, now and then, owing to alleged infringements of the 
vague boundary line, by one party or the other. If one side 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 709 

thought they discovered that an oysterman from the opposite 
shore was placing his oysters within their waters, they felt no 
hesitancy or compunction in at once raking his stock up, claim- 
ing that he had no right to this ground, and consequently the 
oysters he had bought and placed there were public plunder. 
Arrests for larceny would follow, tedious imprisonments en- 
sue, armed guards i^atrol the domains of the respective states, 
a few men get shot, perhaps, and much trouble to the whole 
community be caused. The accusation was constantly being 
made, also, chiefly by the penniless and shiftless, against pros- 
perous planters, that natural-growth ground had been staked off 
and was being used privately, to the detriment of the general 
welfare of the community. Then, too, there were plenty of 
persons who altogether disputed any rights of property in 
planted oysters, and failed by their conduct to recognize the 
law which said there were such rights. 

The home resources along the shores of Staten Island, in 
York bay and the North river, having long ago been exhausted, 
or greatly depleted, the planters in Prince's bay and on the 
Jersey shore now get "seed" oysters with which to stock their 
beds wherever they can. The chief source is Newark bay and 
Raritan river, though the North and East rivers and Long 
Island sound are drawn upon. A considerable quantity of 
seed is brought from as far away as Fair Haven and Blue 
Point. In most cases the planters themselves gather what they 
use, by going after it in their own sloops, taking a small boat 
and a man to help. 

During the war of the rebellion, when the southern fields 
were cut ofl' from the northern markets to a great extent, the 
Staten Island planters reaped a rich harvest. Their beds were 
unusually productive, and the prices were double what they 
now are, in many cases. At i)resent the receipts are about the 
same as have prevailed for several years, except that the season 
of 1878-79, following upon a period of financial depression, and 
characterized by misfortune in the growth of the moUusks, 
showed lower rates paid than ever before or since. Prices de- 
pend largely upon the quality of the different beds, and vary 
with localities. Virginia oysters from Prince's bay are consid- 
ered the best. Of natives, those grown in the sound are favor- 
ites; these supplied a large part of the shipments to Europe in 
1879-80, and gave better satisfaction than any others sent. 



710 HISTORY OF EICinrOND COUNTy. 

Perth Amboy and Keyport were the packing points. The 
prices received by the planters for the different kinds of Staten 
Island oysters in 1879 were from ten to twenty per cent, less 
than the previous year, up to which time the price for a long 
time had averaged one dollar per bushel, taking all grades and 
sizes together. In the fall and winter of 1879-80. however, 
lots sold at one dollar were rare, and the average i^rice of 
"Sounds" and the best "Prince's Bays" (natives) did not 
average over eighty or ninety cents, while Tottenville oysters, 
with few exceptions, failed to come up to this even, seventy- 
five to eighty cents being reported for the most part. 

The oyster interests of New York bay are the livelihood of a 
considerable number of people, though it is probable that the 
population at present supported by them is reduced at least a 
quarter from the total of ten years ago. All the inhabitants of 
the southern half of Staten Island may be called oystermen, 
since many of then have invested a little in the beds in some 
shape, or work more or less on hire for the regular growers. 
Exactly how many real planters there are on the island it would 
be difficult to learn; they are scattered everywhere, but chiefly 
live at Pleasant Plains, Tottenville, Rossville and Chelsea. On 
the north shore live many New York merchants, like the Van 
Names, etc., who j^lant southern oysters almost entirely. Their 
capital, also, with that of many other New York dealers whose 
names do not appear, aids a large number of outside planters 
who are, in fact, only managers of the under-water estates 
which they apparently own and operate. Tiiis is not deroga- 
tory to their personal worth or dignity, but only one of the 
methods of trade, shaped by peculiarities of the law bearing 
upon the subject. By the opei'ations in oyster culture in and 
about Staten Island, the number of families wholly supported 
is estimated to be somewhat as follows : At Prince's bay, fifty; 
at Tottenville, seventy-five; remainder of Staten Island, twenty- 
five. 

The total products of Staten Island beds during the season 
of 1879-80, was about as follows: This enumerates only the 
native oysters. About 15,000 bushels a year of southern 
oysters were planted around Staten Island; at Prince's bay, 
50,000 bushels; by Tottenville planters, 55,000; by Chelsea 
planters, 25,000. 

We append the following abstract from the report of Fish 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 711 

Cominissionei' Blackford, in charge of the oyster investigation, 
made to the legislature of New York in 1885, pertaining to the 
oyster interests of Staten Island. 

"Most of the lands under water which surround Staten Is- 
land were well supjilied, eaily in the present century, with large 
beds of excellent oysters, but at the present time the only lo- 
cality where natural beds of any account are to be found is 
upon the west side of the island fi'om the neighborhood of 
Newark bay along the Kill Von Kull to the ' Sound,' or Rari- 
tan bay. The northern and northeastern portions of the island 
were never as well furnished with oysters as were the other sec- 
tions, on account of the rough nature of the bottom," but even 
this meager supply has been destroyed by the garbage and 
other miscellaneous nuisances which for many years past have 
been dumped or poured into the upper bay, or such oysters as 
are to be found there at present have been rendered useless as 
food, as their flavor has been ruined. The largest beds were 
formerly to be found in the neighborhood of Prince's and Rari- 
tan bays, where quite extensive areas were worked with profit 
to the local oystermen. As already stated, there are still lo- 
calities in Raritan bay, or the Sound, as it is called by the 
oj'^stermen, where considerable quantities of oysters, prin- 
cipally small seedlings, can be obtained from the natural beds. 
But these beds are none of them in New York waters. In Prince's 
bay, and from this part of Staten Island out toward Sandy 
Hook, thei-eareat the present time practically no natural growth 
beds, all of the beds which originally covered an important por- 
tion of the bottom of this section of the bay having been en- 
tirely exhausted by continuous and merciless working, and 
the territory thus denuded has been claimed and staked out as 
ground for planting. It is true that on the softer bottom of 
the bay at some distance out from the shores of the island, 
where as yet little, if any, claim for planting ground has been 
made, there are to be found some few scattered oysters, and 
there are some beds of fair size in the ship channels leading out 
to sea, but as a rule all that part of the bottom which during colo- 
nial times and later furnished great quantities of oysters, is now 
claimed as private property and protected from all outside work- 
ers. Visits were made in the ' Lookout' to this section of the 
state waters on the 15th, and again on the 24th, of September, 
and a lai-ge and enthusiastic meeting of the oystermen of the 



712 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

southern part of Staten Island was held at Pepper's hall, in the 
village of Tottenville, on Monday, the 8th of December. During 
the visits with the 'Lookout' dredgings were made on quite 
a number of the planted beds and also on that portion of the 
bay outside of the line of staked lands. As a rule the planted 
beds in both Prince's and Raritan bays are of small size, but 
one man may control a large number of plots, which maj' be lo- 
cated at considerable distances from each other, as there ap- 
pears to be no law for this part of the state regulating the size 
of the plots, or the number of them which shall be under any 
one man's control. The accepted rule has been, " first come, 
first served," and the amount of territory held seems to have 
been limited only by the ability of the individual to find suit- 
able locations, and his desire to keep such locations away from 
his less fortunate neighbors. No public record is kept of any of 
these private claims and no revenue of any kind is derived from 
them, either state, county or town. Each oyster planter is a law 
unto himself and to his neighbors, as to his own claims, and so 
long as he keeps his plot staked and a small or large quantity 
of oysters uponjiis land, the courts, by mutual consent, uphold 
his claims to the bed. As the law thus only tacitly recognizes 
these claims, while it offers no protection to the claimants, they, 
or at least a large number of them, have accordingly formed 
what is known as the Richmond County Oyster Planting Asso- 
ciation, for the mutual protection of their beds, and this asso- 
ciation hires a watchman, or watchmen, who patrol the staked 
areas and prevent outsiders from accidentally or otherwise lift- 
ing the planted crops, or one planter from poaching on another 
planter's preserves. 

"The association is thus, to a certain extent, a close corpora- 
tion, except that it cannot prevent any resident of the county 
or state from claiming or staking off any water area not already 
occupied. The oystermen get rich returns from their invest- 
ments upon their sub-aqueous territory, and have the bulk of 
their taxes paid by their neighbors of the upland. So long as 
the majority of the riparian property owners do not seriousl,y 
complain, it is not much to be wondered at that not many of 
the planters are in favor of any changes from the present con- 
dition of affairs, as regards the amount of land held, of any 
system of taxation for their property, or of any laws on the 
part of the state regulating the same. They would be very 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 713 

willing to have the state keep outsiders from locating in this 
vicinity, and also have the state deed or lease them the lands in 
perpetuity, and jjrotect them from all harassments and injuries, 
but the most of them do not seem to be veilling to give any re- 
turn for such leasing or protection. There are some, however, 
who are very outspoken in their opinion that it would only be 
fair to place a small tax upon each acre of the land held for 
planting purposes. As regards the amount of land to be held by 
individuals, most of those examined thought that ten to fifteen 
acres were as much as any one person could work, although 
they did not believe in any limitation. Some thought there 
should be a limit fixed at perhaps ten acres, and one planter 
was very emphatic in his statement that if a person could not 
get a good living off from eight acres he could not from eight 
hundred, and branded the majority of planters as ' hogs,' who 
w^antedall the land they could get hold of, even though they 
possessed neither the ability nor the means to work all that they 
might be able to control; they simply wanted to keep the land 
out of the hands of others. The majority of the planters, on 
the other hand, claim that it is necessary to have at least three 
or four plots of ground, since the oysters in this vicinity take 
from three to five years to arrive at marketable size, and in 
order to have some ready for market each year a series of plants 
must be made. Thus, if they use seed one year old, and they 
allow this seed to lie five years, they would require at least 
four plots, one to be seeded each year, until those first planted 
are ready for market, so that they shall be able to market each 
season the crop planted four years before. One witness who was 
examined even went so far as to claim that it was necessary to 
let the land lie at rest, in order to recuperate, three or four 
years after any crop had been taken from it, jnst as if the 
oysters drew their sustenance from the bottom upon which they 
lay and thus exhausted it, rather than from the water which 
was coming and going above the bed. It may be true that the 
tearing up which the bed receives when the oysters are removed 
necessitates some slight period of rest in order that the bottom 
may settle again, especially when deeply harrowed by dredges 
or tongs, but undoubtedly much of the loose material stirred 
up when removing the oysters is carried off by the tides and 
does not settle back directly upon the beds. If it was indeed 
necessary to allow three or four years as a resting spell for 



714 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTT. 

each bed or part of a bed, then surely would the planters of 
Staten Island need very extensive plots for their planting 
operations. 

"In most cases these planted beds are located at some dis- 
tance from the shore line of the island, in from eight to thirty 
feet of -ivater, but some plots extend from the upland directly 
ont for several hundred feet from tide limits. In these 
latter cases, when a sale of the adjoining upland takes place, 
the oyster beds may be included in the transfer deed of the 
property, although legally such disposal of the oyster interests 
is not recognized. Nevertheless, while the courts would not 
admit the deed, they would maintain the right of the pur- 
'chaser to the property thus obtained, so long as he worked 
the land; or in other words, the oysters would be recognized 
and protected as so much property. Ordinary transfers or sales 
of oyster beds are mere verbal agreements and accepted by 
both the individuals, oystermen and the courts. In case of 
the death of holders of these beds, the beds become the prop- 
erty of the heirs, provided said heirs continue to work them. 
If a bed is thrown up for any reason, the first person who 
desires to take and work it has the privilege of doing so, when, 
upon staking it in and placing oysters upon it, it again becomes 
l^rivate property. There seems to be no recognized law or 
regulation whereby any one can tell when a bed is or is not 
worked; if it is staked off it must l)e taken for granted that it is 
in use, and if no oysters can be found upon it it must be taken 
for granted that the planter is allowing it to 'recuperate,' and 
that he alone is capable of telling how long this resting spell 
shall continue. Much complaint is heard from this cause on 
the part of the i^oorer oystermen, who say that large tracts of 
land are at the present time held in this manner. These tracts 
are not worked, and only a boat load or so of oysters are 
placed upon them. They are simply held for future use, and 
the 'staking in' prevents others from using them, for even if 
the oystermen think they are rightfully entitled to work such 
land when not covered with oysters, they know the uncer- 
tainty and worry incident to a lawsuit, and as a rule do not 
interfere with or disturb in any manner the land so claimed. 

" The amount of ground now worked is probably much 
greater than when the main reliance for oysters was upon the 
natural beds, since ground where no natural growth occurs is 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. . 715 

even better than hard bottom for planting purposes, and much 
of this kind of bottom is utilized in this vicinity, consequently 
the number of bushels of oysters put upon the market now is 
much greater than it was then, as the beds for the most part 
are well cared for, or at least we found those beds which we 
examined to be in good condition, although there is a verj' 
great diflference, even in the same neighborhood. For instance, 
we made one haul upon a small bed ; the dredge was down two 
minutes, and the result was three hundred and forty-one oysters 
of good size and in excellent condition for sale. Upon another 
bed, within perhaps twenty-five rods of the first, the most we 
could get at any one haul was .seventy-four oysters. The oys- 
ters from both these places were three to four years old. In 
another locality, with the dredge down the same length of 
time, we took up one hundred and seventy oysters from a bed 
of three years olds, and four hundred and forty-five from abed 
where the oysters wei'e only two years old. If the growth 
of those two year old oysters represented the common growth 
in this bay of oysters at this age, it would seem hai'dly neces- 
sary to leave oysters down for five years in order to get them 
into fine condition for market, as the extra time would appar- 
ently give a greater pei'centage of lo.ss in numbers than the gain 
would be in size. From several dredgings which we made on 
the mud outside the staked beds, we were able to obtain but 
two oysters, showing that the territory which was not taken 
up was of little value as natural growth ground. The flavor of 
the oysters from these beds was very good, but they were too 
salty to suit most palates. The beds are worked mostly with 
tongs, but in the deejier water dredges are used from either sail 
boats or steamers, although dredges are not allowed on the 
natural grounds in this part of the State. 

" Before being sent to market the oysters are taken to the 
neighborhood of Newark bay or along the Kill Von Kull and 
allowed to remain in fresh water over one tide, for the purpose 
of freshening them, when they are ready for the purchaser, 
having been 'drinked' sufiiciently in that time. A goodly 
proportion of the seed for the planted beds is obtained from tlio 
' Sound ' and from the Kill Von Kull up to and including New- 
ark bay. Some is brought from Virginia and Maryland, and 
some from the East river and Connecticut. Formerly much 
more seed was brought from the south than is the case at present 



716 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

time. There seems to be little choice between the seed from 
the different sections named, although most of the planters pre- 
fer the native or the East river seed. Very little seed is found 
in the immediate vicinity of the beds, and no efforts are made 
by the planters to catch any " set." as they think it a waste of 
time to make any efforts in this directiou, although it seems 
probable that they might save a good deal of money which is 
now paid to outside parties, if they would take a little pains 
and employ some of their leisure moments in arranging suita- 
ble collectors, and this will undoubtedly be done in time. 
That seed which comes from outside localities costs from twentj'- 
iive cents to one dollar per bushel, according to quality. Among 
those oysters which were taken up during our cruising with the 
' Lookout,' we found a few drills, but not enough to be of any 
moment, and the oystermen do not regard them as a serious 
trouble, although they destroy all that they catch. At times 
the star iish comes into the region in numbers sufficient to cause 
considerable damage, but these are rare occasions. The drum 
fish (Pogonias chromis) is perhaps the natural enemy which the 
planters here dread the most, as it is claimed that when a large 
school of drums makes its appearance there is no telling how 
much damage may be done before the fish are scared away or 
leave of their own volition. A small portion of a bed may be 
destroyed or the whole of one may be devastated, or one may 
be destroyed and another close by not injured at all. Some- 
times little damage will be done, sometimes thousands of bush- 
els will be eaten. The drum has the pharyngeal and palatine 
bones paved with large, rounded molars with which it can crush 
to pieces any small or thin shell, and when a school gets over 
an oyster bed all those oysters which can be taken into the 
mouth have the shells crushed, the Juicy contents sucked out 
and the fragments of shells scattered about on the bed. In 
some cases it is said that, after such a visitation, the bed looks 
as if an army of stone breakers had passed over it, so com 
pletely is it demoralized. For eight or nine years, until the past 
season, the drum has not visited the Staten Island oyster 
grounds, and the oystermen say that the mossbunker fishermen 
have kept them away by cruising about and drawing their nets 
for the menhaden. But recently a law has been passed pro- 
hibiting the fishermen from working in the lower bay, and just 
as soon, the oystermen say, as the fishermen go out the drums 



HISTOKY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 717 

come in. It may be merely a coincidence, still the oystermen 
are very anxious that the bunkermen should be allowed to re- 
turn to their old business in the bay. 

"The skate is also placed among the enemies of the oyster 
in Prince's and Raritan bays, but while it is possible for the 
skate to make way with small oysters and other small shell- 
lish, it is not likely that they do any great amount of damage, 
probably not a fraction of that caused by the mussel [Mytllus 
edtdls), which sometimes 'sets' upon a bed of oysters iii such 
profusion that, in growing, they finally cover the oyster almost 
entirely up as with a living blanket, and the result is the de- 
struction of the bed. The only remedy is to take up the 
oysters as soon as it is found that the mussels are spreading 
over the bed, and after removing the mussels replace the 
oysters upon the old, or take them to a new bed. Practically 
there are, according to all accounts, but three important natu- 
ral enemies of the planted oyster in these waters, the drum-fish 
and star-fish, when they, in their rare migrations, come into 
the bay, and the mussel. The drill cannot work very effectively 
among any but small seed, and the skate can hardly be taken 
into account. The periwinkles, or rough and smooth whelks {Cy- 
cotyims canaliculatus and Fulgur carica) might be formidable 
enemies if they were found anywhere in very great abundance. 
Against all of these enemies the only refuge for the oysterman 
is in constant supervision of his beds. He cannot leave them 
to chance with any certainty that chance will throw him a win- 
ning card. But if he keeps his beds well worked and destroys 
all of these enemies he meets with, he may feel pretty confi- 
dent that the majority of his oysters will find a fair opportu- 
nity sometime of visiting the market. There are some otiier 
enemies, however, with which the Staten Island oystermen 
have to deal and against which they cannot as successfully 
contend as they can with those just mentioned. At times, 
when a strong west or northwest wind unites with a very low 
tide, many of the shoal water beds are left exposed, and in the 
winter season the oysters are liable to be frozen before any 
water can I'eturn to cover them, and in sevei'e storms so much 
mud and sand are movad about in the waters that many beds are 
smothered or sanded by the deposited material. Accidents of 
this kind are liable to happen in all shallow water regions, and 
no foresight can prevent them so long as the oysters are left in 



718 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTT. 

such exposed places. Fortunately it is not often that the oys- 
termen of this region experience severe losses of this nature. 
There is one enemy, however, which certainly can be gotten 
rid of, if the right means are employed ; that is, the refuse ma- 
terial from oil works and sugar refineries, which is now thrown 
in the water. There can be no doubt that many of the oysters 
are killed every year on the beds, in this region, just as they 
have been in the upper part of onr bay, by the impurities which 
are constantly being tlu'own into the bay along both the New 
York and New Jersey shores, and it is not uncommon to 
dredge up great masses of oysters, literally reeking with oily 
slime and black, sticky mud, of the vilest smell. The law for- 
bids the placing of these refuse substances in the waters of 
the bay, and we heartily agree with the oysterman that the 
law ought to be rigidly enforced for this as well as other locali- 
ties." 

John Scott is of Scotch ancestry and the grandson of Thomas 
Scott, who was nearly allied to the family of Sir Walter Scott, 
and resided in the vicinity of Abbotsford. the home of the lat- 
ter. Thomas Scott's death, the result of an accident, occurred 
in early life. His only son, also named Thomas, resided at 
Winchmore Hill, Edmonton, Middlesex, England, and enjoyed 
an enviable reputation as a skillful engineer and surveyor, with 
offices at Gray's Inn Square, London. He married Sarah Mar- 
garet Andrews, of Newark, Nottingham, England, and had the 
following children: Emily, Sarah, Thomas, John, James, Wil- 
liam and Walter, all of whom, with the exception of the sub- 
ject of this biography, are deceased. 

Thomas Scott, later in life, emigrated to the United States, 
where he followed his profession. Locating on Staten Island, 
he laid out the village of Clifton and made other important sur- 
veys. 

His son John, who was born at Winchmore Hill, above men- 
tioned, in February, 1826, in October, 1835, emigrated with his 
parents and settled on Staten Island. He received a common 
school education and then engaged in farming. In 1848 he 
established himself in the livery business on the spot he has 
for forty years occupied in Clifton. He also devotes some at- 
tention to his farm and to an establishment for coach building. 
Mr. Scott has been as a citizen active and enterprising, doing 
much to promote the advancement of the place of his residence. 





v%-\«'\"(St, ^. %\t»&-\v^-\. 



HISTORY OF KICPIMOND COUNTY. 719 

A republican in politics, while influential with his party and 
foremost in promoting its interests, he has declined all offices, 
satisfied that others should be the recipients of such honors. 
He is a director in the Mutual Insurance Companj^ of Richmond 
county. Mr. Scott was married March 9, 1856, to Mary J., 
daughter of Luke Fay, well known among old New Yorkers. 
Their children are: Agnes Mary, John Winfield, Walter Logan, 
Frederick Thomas, Emily Louise and David Fay. 

Silas N. Havens, prominent among the business men of 
New Brighton, is the grandson of John Havens, of Connecticut, 
who fought in the revolutionary army during the whole term 
of this country's struggle for independence. His father, of the 
same name as himself, was a Connecticut farmer and served as a 
soldier in the war of 1812. He married at Lyme, Conn., Miss 
Mariett Griffin and, of their twelve children Silas was the eldest. 
It is a remarkable fact that all the members of this large family 
lived to grow up and also to marry. 

Mr. Havens was born at the family homestead in New Lon- 
don county. Conn., March 2, 1827. He received his education 
in the district school of Lyme, after leaving which, at the age 
of seventeen, he came to Staten Island. Here he entered the 
employ of Orlando E. Lee, at that time agent of the New 
Brighton Land Association, After the expiration of ten years 
he engaged in contract work on his own account, with which he 
combined an e.xtensive lumber and feed business and also car- 
ried on large farming operations. Many of the roads in and 
about New Brighton are the results of liis labor, and he has suc- 
ceeded in making more land conveyances than any other single 
person in Richmond county. He has interested himself in pub- 
lic affairs, though he has never held political office. He is a 
trustee and director of the Staten Island Savings Bank and a 
stockholder in the recently organized First National Bank, at 
N^w Brighton. 

Mr. Havens is a member of Kingsley Methodist chui'ch of 
Stapleton and president of its board of trustees. He is an earnest 
worker in behalf of religion, and has been engaged for years in 
church and Sabbath school work. He married, February 24, 
1858, Miss Arabella Smith, of Salem, Connecticut. They reside 
at New Brighton, where Mr. Havens owns considerable real 
estate. Both are highly respected and esteemed in social and 
religious circles. 



720 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Edward Lowrey Woodruff, whose recent display of tal- 
ent in the constrnction of the buildings and pavilion of the 
" Staten Island Amusement Company," entitles him to special 
mention in a history of Richmond county, was born in Buffalo, 
N. Y. He is a great-grandson of Aaron Dickenson Woodruff, 
for twenty-four years attorney-general of the state of New 
Jersey, and a son of the late colonel of engineers, Israel Carle 
Woodruff, who spent forty-six years In the active service of the 
United States. On his mother's side he is descended from 
Thomas Mayhew, who became under the Duke of York, in 1642, 
governor and patentee of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and 
the Elizabeth isles. From these ancestors he inherits that 
strength of character and zeal which he manifests in all his 
undertakings. 

When quite young Mr. Woodruff took up his residence in 
Washington, D. C. Here he remained for many years, devot- 
ing his time to securing an education. He attended the 
Columbian University and subsequently began a special course 
at the School of Mines, which ill health obliged him to discon- 
tinue. Shortly after he was appointed assistant in the engi- 
neer's office, Third Light House district, and was engaged dur- 
ing fifteen years in planning and constructing many light houses 
on Long Island sound and the North river. 

For four years he was associated with the late Professor 
Joseph Henry while making his experiments on sound, the 
aerial echo and oils for light house illuminants. The warm 
fiiendship entertained by the professor for him, together with 
the intimate association and frequent conversations which he 
enjoyed with the eminent scientist, have been of material benefit 
to him in his subsequent career. 

Mr. Woodruff is a young man of highly artistic tastes. That he 
possesses marked ability as an architect, the successes which he 
has achieved on Staten Island bear testimony. The buildings 
constructed by him for the " Amusement Company" display 
genius, not only in their design but also in their adaptation to 
the uses for which they were intended. He has devoted much 
time to the architectural adornment of the island, and already 
many attractive and commodious structui-es of all descriptions 
have been the result of his efforts in this direction. His own 
recently constructed residence, standing upon an eminence over_ 



i 



) 





\y.\^-y^''^^ V V.v'tV.-;.T.V^^, H. ■*. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 721 

looking New York bay and the adjacent country for miles in all 
directions, is a model of neatness and convenience. 

But Mr. Woodruff has not confined himself to Staten Island 
solely. He has prepared plans for large numbers of houses in 
different parts of New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and 
Vermont, and particularly at Sea Bright. He has made a speci- 
alty of country residences and cottages, and has constructed 
many very attractive and commodious dwellings in and about 
New York, whose advantages are evident at a glance. Like his 
father he is modest and retiring in disposition, never obtrusive. 
He devotes his entire time to the cultivation of his art and the 
result of his labor speaks for itself. His residence on Staten 
Island has been productive of many lasting friendships to him- 
self, and of much benefit in the artistic and social development 
of the community in which he lives. 

Of the various industries carried on in our community there 
is none in connection with which the name of Staten Island is 
more widely known, or more favorably associated, than the 
business of fancy dyeing; nor, with the exception of the oyster 
trade, is there any branch of business that has been so long- 
located here, or that has been steadier or more constant in its 
rate of growth and development. 

The connection of Staten Island with the business of dyeing, 
printing and refinishing dress goods and other textile fabrics 
dates back to the year 1819, when the works of the New York 
Dyeing and Printing Establishment were established at West 
New Brighton— the locality deriving the name of Factoryville, 
by which it was known until quite recently, from this circum- 
stance. The concern of which we propose in the present article 
to give a brief history and description, may be termed an off- 
shoot or colony from the parent establishment at Factoryville; 
hut, like so many other colonies, it has, in its 36 years of in- 
dependent existence, developed so rapidly, and in so many 
different directions, that at present its claim to be considered 
second to no other concern in this line of business in the 
country is very generally conceded. 

In 1850 Col. Nathan Barrett, who had been connected witli 
the New York Dying and Printing Establishment from its 
origin, serving most of the time as general superintendent, de- 
termined to establish a new firm in which he would be able to 
carry into effect, with greater freedom from the restraints of 

46 



722 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

conservative routine, his ideas as to the proper method of con- 
ducting the business. Tlie immediate and almost marvellous 
success of the enterprise gave ample proof of the soundness of 
his judgment, and the wisdom of his course. 

Associating with himself, under the firm name of Barrett, 
Nephews & Co., his three nephews, Messrs. N. M., J. H., and 
E. B. Heal, and Mr. Abraham C. Wood, gentlemen who, up to 
that time, had held positions at the head of the various dyeing 
and iirinting departments, he purchased eight acres of land on 
Cheri'y lane, situated in the town of Castleton, and about one 
mile south of the village of Port Richmond. Here suitable 
buildings were erected, machinery of the latest and most im- 
proved pattern set up, and the proprietors went to work, de- 
termined that nothing should be lacking to make their under- 
taking a success, which skill, energy and experience could 
furnish. As has already been said the result was not long 
doubtful — the public speedily recognized the excellent character 
of the work done by the new house and the care and prompt- 
ness shown in the speedy return of the goods to their owners; 
and these qualities, which are still characteristic of the com- 
pany, produced their natural results in a steady increase of 
business and reputation. 

In 1865, the firm, still retaining the name of Barrett, Nephews 
& Co., was incorporated under the general laws of the state, 
with Colonel Barrett as president, Nathan M. Heal, vice-presi- 
dent, and Abraham C. Wood, treasurer. In the latter part of 
this year (1865) Colonel Barrett, whose health had been failing 
for some time, determined upon a tour in Europe, in which he 
hoped to unite business with recreation, and from which his 
many friends trusted he would return with renewed health, 
and enriched e.xperience. 

These hopes were not destined to be realized. After visiting 
much that was of interest in Ireland, Scotland and England, he 
crossed to the continent, but just after his arrival in Paris, he 
was taken ill, and, returning to London, died in that city after 
an illness of only a few weeks. 

His remains were brought to Staten Island, and buried in the 
cemetery attached to the Church of the Ascension, West New 
Brighton, of which church he had long been a valued member, 
and in which a handsome memorial window perpetuates his 
memory. His record as a patriot, jjublic spirited citizen, an en- 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 723 

ergetic, enterprising and honorable man of business, and, most 
of all, as a kind hearted, charitable. Christian gentleman, will 
long be cherished by his friends and fellow citizens. 

Colonel Barrett was succeeded in the presidency of the com- 
pany by Nathan M. Heal, who held the position until 1870, 
when, his health becoming impaired, he was obliged to resign. 

In 1867, finding that, in consequence of the great increase of 
their business, their water supply was becoming insufficient, 
the company purchased the twenty-seven acres of land adjoin- 
ing the Mill creek, known as the "Post farm," on which were 
situated a number of valuable springs of water exactly adapted 
to the requirements of their establishment. Having connected 
these springs with their works, for which purpose about three 
thousand three hundred feet of iron pipe were needed, and hav- 
ing erected a powerful pumping engine they found themselves 
in possession of a practically inexhaustible supply of that 
sine qua non of a dye house, pure water. The balance of 
the farm, not needed to make the water privilege available 
was then surveyed, cut up into building lots of about half 
an acre each, with good broad streets and avenues running 
through them. So desirable did these lots prove that in a 
short time most of them were sold, and so many handsome 
residences have been built by the purchasers that the neighbor- 
hood — the element of time being taken into consideration — will 
compare very favorably with any portion of the village. The 
principal thoroughfare. Post avenue, running from Columbia 
street to Jewett avenue, preserves the name of the old farm. 

In 1880 Major Clarence T. Barrett, a nephew of the founder of 
the firm, a gentleman whose success in his profession as sanitary 
engineer has given him a more than local reputation, was elected 
president of the company, which office he still holds. Under 
his management very great improvements have been made in 
the "plant" and arrangements of the works. New machinery 
has been introduced, taking the place in many processes of the 
old style hand labor. Artesian wells have been sunk, giving 
an unlimited supply of excellent water on the premises, and do- 
ing away with the necessity of drawing from distant springs. 
In short, everything has been done that was needed to place 
the concern, in appliances and methods, on a par with the best 
establishments of the kind either in this country or Europe. 

To those who have never visited an establishment of this 



724 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTy. 

kind, some of the figures connected with the works of Barrett, 
Nephews and Company, as they at present exist, will prove 
somewhat startling. The buildings, most of them two stories, 
some of them three, substantially built of brick, cover an area 
of about an acre and a half. The engines which drive the ma- 
chinery are fifteen in number, ranging from three to twenty- 
five horse power, and are supplied with steam by eight boilers, 
having an aggregate capacity of five hundred horses ; the sur- 
plus steam not needed for the engines being all required in the 
various scouring, dyeing and drying processes, and, in winter, 
for heating the premises. 

The number of hands employed during the busy season fre- 
quently exceeds three hundred, and in some of the depart- 
ments it is often necessary to keep the machinery running 
night and day, iu order that there may be no delay in return- 
ing the goods. 

The work, to do which all of the above appliances are found 
necessary, may be divided into the two great classes of whole- 
sale and retail. The retail work includes the cleansing, dyeing 
and refinishing of ladies' and gentlemen's garments of every 
kind, quality and texture, from a lady's silk dress, with all 
its dainty trimming of gauze and ribbon, to a gentleman's 
heavy winter overcoat. And this kind of work has been 
brought to such perfection, that articles, such as the above, 
when they have become soiled, or from any cause unfit for wear, 
are frequently cleaned and restored, or even re-dyed, without 
ripping a stitch, and sent back to their owners looking "as 
good as new." The dying, cleansing and refinishing of curtains 
and window shades, in which a large and steadily increasing 
business is done, may be reckoned under this head. 

What is known as the 'wholesale business embraces the re- 
dyeing and refinishing of all sorts of piece-goods, from the 
finest and most costly silks and velvets, ribbons and laces, to 
the heaviest woolen cloths and cloakings. This portion of the 
business is of vast extent, Barrett, Nephews & Company hav- 
ing customers in almost every state and territory of the Union, 
not excepting those on the Pacific slope. The greater part of 
this wholesale work consists in the redying of goods, of which 
the original colors have faded or become unfashionable 
and which have lost their original freshness of finish, but a 
large business is also done in dyeing and finishing goods which 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 725 

come to tliem from the importer or manufacturer in what is 
called the "grey" state, never having been dj^ed or tinished. 
The imported goods of this class are principally in dress goods, 
French cashmeres, merinos and de laines, and in veilings, pari- 
siuas, bareges, velveteens, etc., etc. It is of the treatment of 
these grey goods, their dyeing and preparation for the market, 
that Barrett, Nephews & Company have made a specialty, and 
by liberal expenditure, and the assistance of the best foreign 
skill available, claim to have reached in it a degree of perfection 
seldom, if ever, attained in this country. It is an indisputable 
fact that quite frequently their work in this line cannot be dis- 
tinguished from the imported, even by the most skillful ex- 
perts. 

In 1884 the company experienced a heavy loss in the death 
of Mr. Abram C. Wood, one of the original members of the 
firm, who, at the time of his death, held the office of vice- 
president and treasurer of the company. Mr. Wood's charac- 
ter, uniting, as it did, the strictest integrity and straightfor- 
wardness in all his transactions, with a genial manner and 
friendly disposition, had won for him the respect and esteem 
of a wide circle of business acquaintances ; while his fellow- 
citizens and neighbors of Staten Island, amongst whom his 
whole life had been silent, honored him for those qualities of 
mind and heart which stamped the possessor as a true Christian 
gentleman. 

The present board of trustees of Barrett, Nephews & Com- 
pany consists of the following gentlemen : Clarence T. Barrett, 
jiresident ; Charles W. Kennedy, vice-president and treasurer ; 
Charles E. Heal, secretary; Augustus W. Sexton, Jr., Edwin 
B. Heal, trustees. 

The New York Dyeing and Printing Establishment, also 
known as the Old Staten Island Dyeing Establishment, is lo- 
cated on Broadway, West New Brighton, and was organ- 
ized in the year 1819, under the firm name of Barrett, Tiles- 
ton & Company, and continued in successful operation for 
a pei'iod of about six years ; a charter of incorporation was 
then obtained, under the present title. The late Samuel Marsh 
was elected president, which position he held with great credit 
to himself and profit to the stockholders until his death, which 
occurred after he had been elected president for the forty-ninth 
successive year. 



726 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

There is no more prominent and well known locality on the 
island than where this large and extensive dyeing and cleaning 
establishment is situated, occupying, as it does, over twenty 
acres of ground, which they have occupied continuously for a 
period of three score years and ten, and though they have ar- 
rived at the age allotted to man, they are to-day larger, more 
vigorous, energetic and aggressive than at any previous period 
of their existence. Anything they undertake they aim to do in 
a manner not to be surpassed. 

A visit to their works is necessary to give one an idea of its 
vastness. Five hundred hands are employed, ten steam engines 
and other machinery in proportion are necessary to wield the 
vast fabric. 

That portion of their business that our readers will take the 
most interest in is that devoted to the cleaning and dyeing of 
ladies' and gentlemen's clothing, and to do this work hundreds 
of busy hands are constantly employed, besides they are largely 
engaged in the dyeing of cotton goods and the manufacture of 
bookbinders' cloth. 

It is a singular fact, and one that attests as much as anything 
can, the unvarying success of their business, that the descend- 
ants of the original proprietors still retain their interest in the 
company. 

They have fourteen offices and nearly one thousand agencies, 
covering the territory from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, so 
that no one need have any excuse for wearing soiled or faded 
clothing. 

Their principal New York offices are : 98 Duane street, 286 
Fifth avenne, 870 Broadway, 610 Sixth avenue, and Broadway, 
West New Brighton. 

The Breweries are among the most prominent industries of 
Staten Island. On account of the number and copious fullness 
of the springs and the excellent quality of the water, the island 
has been selected as a favorite place for the establishment of 
this business. The establishments located here together pay 
an enormous revenue to the government. 

Bechtel's brewery, perhaps the largest of these, is located at 
Stapleton, where it was founded by John Bechtel, in 1853. In 
1865 he sold the concern to his son, George Bechtel, the present 
proprietor. The capital invested here amounts to well nigh 
half a million dollars. In 1865 the revenue tax of this brewery 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COnNTY. 727 

was $10,000, and ten years later it bad increased to $60,000. It 
employs about fifty bands. 

George Beohtel was born in Germany in 1840. He came 
witb bis parents to America at tbe age of six montbs, and in 
1851 entered tbe grammar school of Columbia College. After 
finisbing bis course at that institution he began an apprentice- 
ship in the brewery which his father bad established at Staple- 
ton in 1858. From 1860 to 1865 he occupied the position of sup- 
erintendent of tbe establishment, and while engaged in that 
capacity be established tbe first ice-house in the East. In 1865 
he rented the property from his father, and in 1870 purchased 
his entire interest, becoming the sole j)roprietor. 

The original building proving too small for bis rapidly in- 
creasing business, Mr. Becbtel concluded to tear it down and in 
its place he built the present elegant structure, special atten- 
tion being given to its equipment. So energetically was the work 
of erection pushed that in ten weeks after tbe first stone was 
laid brewing had recommenced. Tbe continued increase of his 
business is due to tbe high quality of excellence which he 
maintains in all bis productions. In 1876 his beer received the' 
centennial exhibition medal, in 1877 the medal of tbe Gam- 
brinus Verein, in 1878 one from tbe Paris exhibition and in 1879 
be was awarded the prize at the Sidney fair in New South 
Wales. About the latter year Professor Doremus, after analyz- 
ing bis beer, in a letter to Mr. Becbtel pronounced it to be a 
preparation made from pure hops and malt and free from any 
deleterious substances whatever. 

Mr. Becbtel has been foremost in all public and benevolent 
matters. During the negro riots in 1861 he sheltered large num- 
bers of these homeless people in the woods and sent them 
nourishment daily till the trouble bad subsided, a circumstance 
which tbe colored people on Staten Island have never forgotten 
and for which they have been ever grateful. On the organiza- 
tion of the village of Edgewater Mr. Becbtel was elected trus- 
tee of the Third ward in tbe face of strong opposition. From 
1871 to 1879 he devoted himself entirely to business, taking 
little interest in political matters. In 1879 he received tbe joint 
nomination of the republican and democratic parties for super- 
visor and was elected by an overwhelming majority. He has 
since been yearly re-elected and during one year served as 



728 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

chairman of the board. Prom 1879 to 1883 lie also served as 
trustee of the village from the First ward. 

At the time of his election to the supervisorship Richmond 
county bonds stood at 80, taxes were eight per cent., and the 
village of Edgewater had a debt of $125,000. Through his 
energy the debt has been paid, taxes have been reduced to two 
per cent., and the bonds are bringing $112. In addition to this 
the roads have been greatly improved and cannot be excelled bj' 
any on Staten Island. He succeeded in refunding the $50,000 
war debt at four per cent, at a premium of one and one-half per 
cent., a financial operation which no other county in the state 
has shown. 

In 1879 Mr. Bechtel was a delegate to the state convention, 
the first ever elected from Richmond county. Three times he 
was re-elected and was twice its first vice-president. While in 
convention he was appointed by the first congressional delega- 
tion, comprising Queens, Suffolk and Richmond counties, a 
member of the state and executive committees. 

Mr. Bechtel's benevolent qualities show themselves on all oc- 
casions, and many poor families on Staten Island have been the 
recipients of his charity. It is said of him that he is ever ready 
to hel|) where it is needed. As a holder of office he is indis- 
IDensable, and the growth of the county is largely due to his 
infiuence. He is a man of cordial temperament and is connected 
with many associations, societies and clubs, prominent among 
which are the Arion and Liederkranz societies of New York and 
the German Society Erheiterung, of which he was one of the 
first members. He was also a charter member of the Klobpf 
Stock Lodge of Fi-ee Masons, to which he was transferred from 
the Tompkins Lodge of Richmond county. 

In 1879 the Japanese embassy, together with the secretary of 
state and several other gentlemen, paid a visit to Mr. Bechtel's 
brewery. As a result they ordered one hundred thousand bot- 
tles of beer to be sent to Japan. On their return they sent him 
several very flattering letters and a pair of costly vases as a 
token of their esteem. 

Mr. Bechtel is the largest tax-payer on Staten Island. He 
has lately added to his possessions a water-front of nearly one 
thousand eight hundred feet, with an average water depth of 
thirty feet at low tide. He has an elegant residence on the 
island and an enormous stable, whicli is said to be one of the 




HOUSE AND STABLES OF GEORGE BECHTEL. 
STAPUETON, N. Y. 



Vft^RltVt^ t. %\\.*^-\V^-\^ *. X. 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 729 

finest in the United States. The latter has been highly compli- 
mented by Mr. Bergh, president of the "Society for the Pre- 
vention of Cruelty to Animals," of which Mr. Bechtel is a 
member. Previous to the improvement of the Edgewater roads 
Mr. Bechtel was obliged to stable his horses in New York cit.y, 
running a steamboat to and from the island solely for their 
conveyance. The offices attached to his brewery are handsouie 
and complete. The furnishings and decorations are of the most 
elegant description, their general design being that of the Queen 
Anne period. A special featvire of their outfit is a commodious 
Russian bath, laid in cement, with imported white and blue 
tiles. 

Mr. Bechtel is now in the prime of life. He is a man of taste 
and foresight, and is regarded by those who know him best as 
a highly nseful as well as influential man. It has been his in- 
tention for some time to erect a hospital upon Staten Island 
which shall be open to unfortunates of all nationalities and 
sects. He will put his plan into execution as soon as the i:)ropei' 
site can be secured. He has just given a sum of money with a 
l^romise of more, if necessary, to erect a hospital for invalid 
Odd Fellows of the state of New York, and is at present nego- 
tiating with a committee from the Smith infirmary to build a 
pavilion costing from $4,000 to §5,000 and containing six en- 
dowment beds, as an addition to their projected hospital, 
entirely at his expense. 

Mr. Bechtel married, in 1865, Miss Eva Schoen, of New York 
city. He has five children still living, four daughters and one 
son. The daughters were attendants of the famous French 
school of Madame Colin, formerly conducted by Madamoiselles 
Charbonnier. 

The Clifton brewery, in Edgewater, is one of considerable 
importance. It is invested with some degree of interest from 
tlie fact that it was established by General Garabaldi and his 
partner, Antonio Meucci, in 1851. Since theirday it has passed 
through the hands of several proprietors, among whom were 
Louis Gross, Christian Trefz and Gabriel Mayer, at whose de- 
cease it passed into the hands of David Mayer and Fr. Bachmann. 
The capital invested is about a quarter of a million dollars and 
the work employs about fifty hands. This brewery was de- 
stroyed by fire on the 31st of October, 1881. The buildings 
were of brick, but they fell before the devouring flames, to- 



730 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUKTY. 

gether witli an ice house and a saloon connected with the 
brewery. The loss was estimated at about two hundred and 
twenty-five thousand dollars. 

The Atlantic brewery, at Stapleton, is owned by Rubsam & 
Horrmann. It was established in 1870, and employs a capital 
of about one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, and a 
force of thirty to forty men. 

Bischoff's brewery was established at Stapleton, in 1854, or 
soon after that date, by one Gillich. Subsequently it became 
the property of Wolf & Reinhardt, and later passed into the 
possession of George Bischoff. About twenty hands are era- 
ployed. 

The Constanz brewery is located at Castleton Corners. It was 
established in August, 1852, by August Schmid. Subsequently 
passing into the hands of Joseph Setz, it was conveyed by him 
to Monroe Eckstein, in 1875, and by him it has been greatly im- 
proved and is still owned. The original number of buildings 
was two, and its capacity until 1875 only three thousand bar- 
rels. Six large buildings have since been added and the ca- 
pacity increased to forty thousand barrels. Inproved machinery 
has been introduced, which is driven by steam. The water here 
is of first quality. About forty men are employed and ninety 
to one hundred thousand bushels of malt and three hundred 
bales of hops are annually used. 

There are a few other similar establishments on the island, 
but none so large as those we have noticed. At the centennial 
exhibition at Philadelphia eleven prizes were awarded to brew- 
ei's in the United States, three of which were awarded to Staten 
Island brewers, viz.: Mayer & Bachmann, George Bechtel and 
Eiibsam & Horrmann. Eckstein, Bischofl' and some others did 
not compete. 

Monroe Eckstein, one of the most enterprising men among 
the brewers of Staten Island, is the seventh of twelve children 
of Henry Eckstein, formerly a wealthy merchant of New York, 
who came to this country from Bavaria in 1835. He was born 
in the city of New York, June 23, 1849, and during his youth 
attended private and public schools in his native place. Subse- 
quently he enjoyed a term in the College of New York, after 
which, in 1865, he engaged in the tobacco business with the firm 
of Wertheimer & Co., of New York and San Francisco. Here 
his business abilities soon won for him the favor of his employers 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 731 

and lie was rapidly advanced till at the time of his leave 
taking in 1875 he was buyer for the firm. 

In the latter year Mr. Eckstein purchased from Joseph Setz 
the Constanz brewery at Four Corners, S. I., which had been 
founded in 1852, by August Schmid, one of the organizers of 
the United States Brewers' Association. The brewery is located 
on rising ground whence a magnificent view of the Kill Von 
Kull, the Jersey country and vicinity can be obtained, and has 
about it twenty-two acres of ground, most of which is attrac- 
tively laid out as a pleasure park, with summer houses, seats, etc. 
The immense increase in the business which Mr. Eckstein has 
succeeded in bringing about has compelled him to enlarge the 
building from time to time, and he is at the present writing 
engaged in rebuilding the whole structure, and replacing the 
old machinery at a cost of $125,000. This will make his outfit 
one of the most complete brewing plants in the country. 

Mr. Eckstein is a public spirited and enterprising man. He 
takes great interest in the development of the neighborhood, 
and was active in the organization and promotion of the rail- 
road company that constructed the shore line direct to his es- 
tablishment. Ever since his removal to the island he has been 
identified with the more important enterprises on it. He is 
commissioner of highways, chairman of the board of school 
trustees of Castleton Corners, treasurer of the Richmond 
County Railroad Company, president of the Richmond County 
Savings Bank and a stockholder in the First National Bank 
and the Bank of Staten Island. 

Besides these he is an active member of the executive com- 
mittee of the Association of United Lager Beer Brewers of New 
York and vicinity, and a member of the vigilance committee of 
the New York State Brewers and Malsters' Association. He is 
also connected with many social clubs in New York city and on 
Staten Island. 

Mr. Eckstein has given large amounts to charitable purposes 
and his spirit of benevolence is well known throughout Rich- 
mond county. His genial nature and thorough integrity in the 
transaction of his business have won for him many and lasting 
friends. 

Mr. Eckstein married, February 1, 1882, Miss Selina Dinkel- 
spiel, of New York city, in which place he resides during the 
winter months. 



732 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

The firm of B. Kreisclier & Sons, at Kreischerville, is engaged 
in the manufacture of clay gas retorts, fire brick, blocks, and 
all kindred fire clay goods necessary where high heats are ob- 
tained. The factory is located on Staten Island sound, two 
miles from Tottenville, and diagonally opposite the coal docks 
of the Lehigh Valley Raih'oad Company. 

This business was established in 1845, by Balthasar Kreisclier 
and Charles Mumpeton, under the firm name of Kreischer & 
Mumpeton, at the corner of Goerck and Delancey streets. New 
York city, and so continued until 1849, when, after the decease 
of the latter, B. Kreischer carried on the business in his own 
name. In 1859, his nephew becoming associated with him, the 
name was changed to Kreischer & Nephew, and two years later, 
upon the admission of Mr. Kreischer' s son-in-law, it was again 
changed to B. Ki'eischer & Company. In 1861 the partnershi p 
was dissolved, and the style of B. Kreischer again adopted. In 
1870 Mr. George F. Kreischer was admitted as a partner, and 
the style changed to B. Kreischer & Son. The manufactory 
was again enlarged, and at that time occupied twenty-one full 
city lots. In 1873, the property becoming too valuable and ex- 
pensive for manufacturing, it was resolved to enlarge the Staten 
Island works sufficiently to raise its capacity equal to that of 
the New York works. Operations were at once commenced, 
but were somewhat retarded by the general depression of busi- 
ness. In the fall of the year 1876, the buildings being com- 
pleted,, the machinery was taken out of the New York factor.y, 
and all tools, moulds, etc., shipped to Staten Island. The build- 
ings in New Y^ork were taken down and tenement houses 
erected in their stead. On the eve of the 1st of January, 1877, 
the factory was consumed by fire, causing a total loss of sixty 
thousand dollars. By the energy and close attention of Mr. B. 
Kreischer, however, assisted by his sons, on the 23d day of 
April the engine was again running, and manufacturing opera- 
tions were resumed. The factory was rebuilt and the newest im- 
provements were made. In 1878 Mr. B. Kreischer retired from 
the business, having been active in the same for thirty-three 
years, and the style was changed to the present one, B. 
Kreischer & Sons, Mr. B. Kreischer allowing his sons to use his 
name. 

The factory now covers over three acres of ground, is two 
tories high, and has a capacity of twenty thousand fire brick a 




'Si 

Z 

o 

(fl 

<x. 
a 

o >> 
^ z 

^ d 



o g 
5 5 



u 

m 

w 



HISTORY OP RICHMOND COUNTY. 733 

day. A one hundred and twenty-five horse power engine, tnk- 
ing steam from two tnbular boilers, supplies the motive power. 
A line of shafting extends from one end of the main building 
to the other, being three hundred feet in length. The storage 
room for clay, etc., is composed of fourteen bins thirty- two by 
twenty-five feet each, taking up a space of four hundred and 
twenty-five feet in length, wifh a capacity of four thousand 
tons. In the fall of the year ISSij, a clay digging machine was 
purchased by the firm, which gives great satisfaction, and ma- 
terially reduces the labor of mining the clay. 

There are altogether from one hundred to one hundred and 
fifty men employed at the works and in the clay mines. The 
annual consumption of raw material is about thirteen thousand 
tons, and to dry and burn the material manufactured, from three 
thousand five hundred to four thousand tons of coal are con- 
sumed. The average production per annum is about three mil- 
lion five hundred thousand brick, or ten thousand tons gross. 
The fire brick manufactured are transported to New York city, 
a steam lighter of one hundred and twenty tons capacity being 
used for tliat purpose. This was built for the purpose in 1880. 
At the foot of Houston street. East river, the firm has a depot, 
where a large stock of all kinds of fire brick is constantly kept 
on hand, and there the financial part of the business is con- 
ducted. The present members of the firm are George F. 
Kreischer, residing in New York city, and Charles C. and Ed- 
ward B. Kreischer, both residing in Kreischerville, Stateu 
Island. 

For the period of almost half a century this concern has 
given close study and personal supervision to this important 
branch of manufacture. The European systems have regularly 
been examined by them, and valuable improvements have from 
time to time been made. Such untiring energy, industry and 
perseverance have met with the deserved reward of gaining the 
highest reputation for their goods wherever they have been 
used. Considerable difficulty was experienced about 1854, in 
procuring a reliable supply of clay, and the proprietor, feel- 
ing the necessity and the advantages of having his own mines, 
purchased the clay property (discovered by him) sitnated here, 
and here erected a building for the manufacture of fire brick. 
Large additions were made to the premises in 1855, providing 
for the employment of a large number of men. The growth 



734 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

and pi'osperity of this little village, by reason of Mr. Kreischer's 
enterprise and snccess, was such that a post office was estab- 
lished and the place named Kreischerville. In the year 1860 
the buildings were enlarged and the manufacture of clay gas 
retorts introduced, this being the first place where gas retorts 
of clay were manufactured in America. In 1865 valuable clay 
beds at Woodbridge, N. J., and Chester City, Pa., were pur- 
chased, and the business had become so prosperous that the 
New York manufactory was rebuilt, and a new system of burn- 
ing and drying, together with improvements in machinery, 
were introduced. 

Balthasar Kreischer, who was born March 13, 1813, at 
Hornbach, a small village of Bavaria, is the grandson of Nicko- 
las Kreischer, a native of Berschweiler, Rhenish Prussia, who 
settled in Hornbach as a manufacturer of bricks. His three 
sons were Peter, Andreas and Balthasar. The latter, born in 
1776, married Susan Schlemmer, and had four daughters and 
two sons, one of whom is the subject of this sketch. After re- 
ceiving a common school education he was apprenticed to a 
stone cutter and sculptor. At the age of twenty-two he 
was selected, together with two others, to lay the corner 
stone of the fortress of Germersheim, near the ruined castle of 
Freidrichsbuhl, where Rudolph of Hapsbui'g died in 1291. In 
December, 1835, occurred the great fire in New York which in- 
fluenced his emigration to that city. Arriving in June, 1836, 
he immediately sought work and aided in rebuilding the burned 
district. Soon after he married Caroline, daughter of George 
Haenchen, of Hornbach, and speedily became a builder on his 
own account, erecting many houses and business structures. 
The building of bakers' ovens became a specialty, his reputa- 
tion being early established as the best builder of such ovens 
in the city, many of them of fire brick. Mr. Kreischei having 
discovered in New Jersey a suitable clay, determined to embark 
in the manufacture of fire brick himself, and for this purpose 
found a co-partnership with Cliarles Mumpeton under the firm 
name of Kreischer & Mumpeton. To overcome the prejudice 
against the domestic article, as compared with the English, he 
entered into a contract with a consumer by which a furnace was 
built, one-half with imported fire brick and the remainder with 
brick of his own manufacture, giving a bond of indemnity 
against loss in case his own gave out before the imported 



I 




u 
I 



if) 



< d 

J > 

c 

h 

U. -H 

w 

U y 

U 

z 

u 

Q 

S 
u 

X 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 735 

article. The result was in his favor and decisive. In a few 
years the English article was almost entirely superseded by 
brick of Mr. Kreischer's manufacture. Mr. Mumpeton having 
died in 1849, his partner conducted the business alone, giving 
it close attention and introducing from time to time improve- 
ments suggested by his own experience and the study of Euro- 
pean methods. Its extension was such that the factory originally 
occupying one city lot, covered thirteen lots. Mr. Kriescher 
also found time to start a chemical works in 1850 and works 
for the manufacture of ultra-marine blue in 1852. He finally 
purchased an extensive property in Westfield township, Staten 
Island, built additional works near his mines, adjoining the 
Staten Island sound, with superior facilities for transportation, 
and ultimately made it his place of residence. A prosperous 
village soon grew up, and tlie government established a post 
office under the name of Kreischerville. Mr. Kreischer was 
in 1860 one of the originators of the Staten Island Railway 
which, by his subsequent generous aid, was rendered self-sus- 
taining. In 1865 valuable clay beds were purchased at Wood- 
bridge, New Jersey, on the Staten Island sound, and in Chester 
county, Pennsylvania. The New York manufactory was re- 
built and a new system of burning and drying, with various 
improvements in machinery, introduced. In 1867 large works 
were erected in Philadelphia, the New York works abandoned 
in 1876, and extensive additions made to the Staten Island 
establishment. Mr. Kreischer had meanwhile kept fully abreast 
of the time and maintained the highest reputation for his 
goods. Meanwhile his sons, George Frederick, Charles C, 
and Edward B., after a thorough education in their own 
country and in Europe, were made familiar with the business to 
which they succeeded in 1878. Mr. Kreischer was one of the 
original trustees of the Dry Dock Savings Bank. He was an 
active member of the Masonic fraternity and connected with 
various charitable organizations, much time and aid having been 
given by him to the Association for the Improvement of the 
Condition of the Poor of New York. At Kreischerville, named 
in his honor, he was held in high esteem for his active, intelli- 
gent participation in every movement tending to the moral and 
material advancement of the community. One of his latest 
acts of benevolence was the gift of St. Peter's German Lutheran 
Church to the congregation, free of debt. The death of Mr. 



» 



736 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Kreischer occurred on the 25th of August, 1886, at Kreischer- 
ville. 

The Jewett White Lead Company's works, at Port Rich- 
mond, on Staten Island, were established in 1842, under the tirm 
name of John Jewett & Sons, and have since been greatly en- 
larged, until they now occupy about two and a half acres of 
ground. The main building for manufacturing purposes is one 
hundred and hfty feet long, forty feet wide and three stories 
high. In this building the machinery is propelled by an en- 
gine of eighty horse power. In the year 1862 another building 
was erected for manufacturing purposes, one hundred and fifty 
feet long, thirty-five feet wide and three stories high. In this 
building the machinery is propelled by an engine of forty 
horse power. The works have a capacity for producing three 
thousand tons of pure white lead annually, and they consume 
about two thousand tons of coal and employ one hundred men. 
The quality of their productions is well and favorably known 
to dealers in all parts of the country. 

In the year 1882 the company was reorganized, under the 
name of "The Jewett White Lead Company," with the follow- 
ing officers : Benjamin C. Webster, president ; James W. Sel- 
lick, secretary ; Charles H. Jewett, secretary. The sub office 
for the transaction of business is at 28 Burling slip, in the city 
of New York. 

The corroding houses, of which there are three, are frame 
structures, each about one hundred and fifty feet long and sixty- 
live feet wide, and of the usual height to accommodate the 
beds. James B. Pollock, superintendent, has been connected 
with the works twenty-nine years, twenty of which he has been 
superintendent, proving himself a very successful and efficient 
one. 

Two of the partners, Messrs. G. W. Jewett and J. A. Dean, 
commenced the manufacture of linseed oil in 1869. The build- 
ings, which are nearly a mile west of the white lead works, also 
stand between the Shore road and Kill Von Kull, and partly on 
a large wharf. The main building is of brick, three stories high, 
one hundred and twenty feet long by seventy six feet wide, with 
an addition seventy-six by twenty-five feet, and a tower con- 
taining a public clock. This establishment employs about 
fifty men, and manufactures about half a million of gallons 





X 




a 
< 

a 
w 

Q 
Z 
< 



u 
J 

ir 
< 

X 

u 

u. 


(J) 
a 
u 
z 
u 

Q 
« 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 737 

of oil annually. The works are now owned by J. A. Dean & 
Company. 

The manufacture of silk has been carried on for several 
years at New Brighton by the Irving Manufacturing Com- 
pany, under the management of John Irving. This establish- 
ment has been lately devoted to the manufacture of dress 
linings. An office is maintained at 84 Franklin street, New 
York. 

At the same place in New Brighton the Manchester Manufac- 
turing Company, consisting of John Irving and William G. 
Hartley, of Manchester, England, recently began operations. 
The partnership was formed in the early part of 1885 for the 
manufacture of silk and cotton plush, mohair, woolen uphols- 
tering and dress goods and velvets. Forty new looms of im- 
proved invention were placed in the old silk mill on Jersey 
street, and the work was begun during the summer. A force 
of about fifty men and^girls was set to work. The manufacture 
of a silk plush strongly resembling sealskin was made a spec- 
ialty. The business was commenced with the employment of 
about §100,000 capital. 

John Irving was born April 17, 1844, in County Derry, Ire- 
land, and educated principally at the night schools of his na- 
tive place. At the age of twelve he was ai)prenticed to the 
weaver's trade and at .seventeen embarked in the manufacture 
of fine linen, with such marked success that soon after he had 
several looms in operation. Discovering in America a wider 
field for his ability he, in 1866, emigrated, and settled in Patter- 
son, N. J., as an employee of R. & H. Adams & Co. Leaving 
this firm at the expiration of the third year, he spent three 
years in New York, and then established in Brooklyn a factory 
for the making of book muslins for the dry goods trade, which 
he was the first to introduce into this country. In 1881 Mr. 
Irving purchased the valuable property now owned by him in 
New Brighton, and began the manufacture of India linens, 
Victoria lawns, tarlatanes, and mohair and silk plushes for up- 
holstery. There being little competition in these fabrics he is 
able largely to control their pnKluction and finds a ready 
market in all the large cities of the United States. Mr. Irving 
devotes his attention exclusively to his extensive business, and 
as a consequence has no leisure to bestow upon public enter- 
prises or private schemes. He was married on the 15th of 

47 



738 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 

April, 1864, to Eliza, dangbter of Robert McElroy. of County 
Derry, Ireland. Their children are: William, Margaret, John 
and Geogre W. 

The Linoleum works are located at the western extremity of 
the Richmond turnpike, on the shore of Arthur kill or Staten 
Island sound. The enterprise was established here a little more 
than ten years ago, by a joint stock company having a capital 
of four hundred and fifty thousand dollars, a considerable part 
of the stock being owned in England. The title of the corpo- 
ration is "The American Linoleum Manufacturing Company," 
and the article manufactured is a floor cloth, which is made 
from ground cork and linseed oil under patents held by the 
company. This was the first venture in the manufacture of 
such an article in this country, and as far as we know is now 
the only one in operation. The article is a substitute for oil 
cloth, being much more durable, and though perhaps more 
costly to begin with, is for the reason suggested less expensive 
in the end. 

The plant is located on a tract of about two hundred acres 
owned by the company. Building was begun in August, 1873, 
and in the course of three years the works erected covered an 
area of about seven acres. The manufactured goods were first 
placed on the market in January, 1875. Joseph Wild was the 
president of the company at the beginning of its operations, 
and J. Cartledge was the manufacturing director. 

The company has been eminently successful in its business, 
the products meeting with a general approval and ready sale. 
For many years the demand for their goods was ahead of their 
capacity to supply it. Steam to the amount of one hundred 
and forty horse power was used and about two hundred 
workmen employed, the works being run by night and by 
day. Electric lights were used to facilitate night work. A 
village was erected about the works, and this is now con- 
nected by stages making several trips daily over the beauti- 
ful macadamized road to Port Richmond, about five miles 
distant. 

De Jonge's paper factory was originally located in New York 
city, but as business increased and additional facilities became 
imperative, the works were removed to Staten Island in 1852. 
They are located on the south side of Richmond turnpike, 




-n^fiyAHRiickie.. 




m^. 




HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 739 

about half a mile from Tompkinsville. Louis De Jonge and 
Charles F. Zentgraf are the proprietors, and carry on the busi- 
ness of coloring, printing and finishing fancy paper, under the 
style of Louis De Jonge & Co. The capital invested is about 
$200,000, and the annual value of the manufactures about 
$300,000. The works cover an area of about two acres, the 
principal building is about two hundred and fifty feet long by 
forty feet wide, with a wing at right angles of one hundred 
and twenty-five by thirty feet. From one hundred and ten to 
one hundred and twenty hands are regularly employed in the 
establishment, and the engines, in the aggregate, are about one 
hundred horse power. The office of the company is at 71 and 
73 Duane street, New York city. 

The Windsor plaster mills, said to have been among the 
largest of the kind in the country, were located at New Brighton, 
on the shore of the kills, where they had a frontage of over 
two hundred feet, and near the foot of Jersey street. About 
ninety men were employed there. The buildings were de- 
stroyed by fire on the 19th- of July, 1885, destroying prop- 
erty to the amount of about $225,000. The works were owned 
by Messrs. J. B. King & Co., the "company" being Peter 
C. Biegel, George H. Wooster and George R. King. Tne 
debris was immediately cleared away and the mills were 
rebuilt. 

About twenty-five or thirty years ago a factory was estab- 
lished at Seguine's Point for the purpose of obtaining the oil 
from palm nuts, by expressing. The works were erected by a 
company composed of Joseph H. and Stephen Seguine, Isaac 
K. Jessup and Major Bennett. The work did not prove remu- 
nerative, and the establishment was afterward devoted to the 
manufacture of candles. This was also abandoned as unprofit- 
able, and about the year 1865 the factory was sold to Algernon 

K. Johnson. 

In the factory above mentioned, sometime after its purchase 
by Mr Johnston, the Johnston Brothers, of whom he was one, 
placed their machinery, and began the manufacture of dental 
supplies This work consists of a wide range of articles : gold 
foil dental instruments, dental chairs, brackets, engines, 
lathes, inhalers, and, in short, whatever a dentist needs in his 

l)iisincss 
The liquefaction of nitrous oxide gas was first accomplished 



740 HISTORY OF KICHMOND COUNTV. 

in this country and on a commercial scale at these works. The 
business of Johnston Brothers, and that of the late Mr. S. S. 
White have been merged into the "S. S. White Dental Manu- 
facturing Company," and is now located here. About two hun- 
dred hands are employed, and the goods, which are acknowl- 
edged as the best made in the world, are sent all over the 
United States and to every part of Europe. 

Other manufactures have been in oj^eration on the island. 
Among them was the manufacture of rubber cloth, which was 
begun by the New York India Rubber Cloth Company in 1835. 
This company was incorporated by an act passed March 11 
of that year, with a capital stock of $100,000, which was divided 
into shares of fifty dollars each. The directors appointed by 
the act were : Samuel Marsh, Nathan Barrett and David V. N. 
Mersereau. A building was erected in New Brighton, and 
tlie business was for a time successfully carried on. The 
building has since been used in the manufacture of paper 
hangings. 

McCuUough's shot factory was in operation for several years 
before and during the late war. In May, 1862, it was work- 
ing day and night to supply government contracts for min- 
ie balls, to the amount of several hundred tons. It stood 
near the steamboat landing at Stapleton. About the close of 
the war it was abandoned for the purpose for which it had 
been used, and the tower was pulled down. The building 
otherwise was enlarged and converted into a cream tartar fac- 
tory, and this, after running but a few weeks, was declared a 
nuisance and closed by order of the courts. 

The manufacture of mowing machines by the Hopkins 
Mower Company is about being established upon the island, 
but at the time of this writing their plans are not sufficiently 
developed to become a part of history. The company has 
been incorporated under the laws of New Jersey, and its of- 
ficers are : Alexander M. Holmes, president ; Rev. Thomas 
S. Yocum, vice-president ; Thomas L. James, treasurer, and 
A. K. Johnston, secretary. 

There are two gas light companies doing business on the 
island. These are the Richmond County Gas Light Companj', 
which has been established about twenty-five years, and the 
Staten Island Gas Light Company, established in 1884. Both 
have their manufacturing works at Stapleton. The former has 



HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 741 

about fifty miles of mains laid and manufactures about thirty 
million cubic feet of gas per annum. Their grounds, build- 
ings, etc., are valued at about $100,000. The capital stock of 
the company is $400,000, nearly the whole of which has been 
actually issued. The annual dividends have generally been as 
high as six or seven x^er cent. 



RD-17 



LEO 78 




vP",- 







v/><5 



^V^ 
^•^ -^^ 




•<:••<;■ 
















^°--<^. 



-^^ * 





C" ♦ 






^Aq^ 







0^ t-^JvL* "**« 






^^•n*.. 











4 o 

4, vP 



^^°. 




^o\ 










<> *'7VV' ,0 













^o\^ 



^°-^t. 



.0' 




o5°-*. 



'k^ '.,.•■ ftf 




^0-n^^ V 





